


The Earth is Moving (But I Can't Feel the Ground)

by shaneo6930



Series: The Earth is Moving verse [1]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe- No Supernatural, But I promise it will get better, Comforting Liam, Derek is a Douche, Enemies to pretend lovers to friends to real lovers, Fluff, Hangover, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Inspired by a Movie, M/M, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Mild Sexual Content, More tags and characters to be added when they appear, Non-Consensual Kissing, Partying, Romantic Comedy, Sad, Sad theo, Soundtrack full of 90s pop and modern country music, Underage Drinking, Whump, boys cuddling
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-20
Updated: 2018-12-18
Packaged: 2019-02-04 14:20:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 18
Words: 39,280
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12772869
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shaneo6930/pseuds/shaneo6930
Summary: Jackson and Stiles used to be friends, but that ended, and they both went their separate ways. Now, after being dumped by his girlfriend Lydia, Jackson concocts a plan to show her she didn't break his heart. A plan that involves his neighbor and ex-friend Stiles, who is reeling from a break-up himself. Pretending to be boyfriends, they find that as time goes on, the "pretend" part seems to be dropping bit by bit.Or, the Stackson Drive Me Crazy AU that nobody asked for.





	1. Nothing To Lose

**Author's Note:**

> You ever watch a movie and feel "Oh, my god, with a few things tweaked, this would be the perfect fic plot!"? That's what I felt a few weeks ago when I was bored and dug out my DVD of the Melissa Joan Hart/Adrian Grenier 90s teen movie Drive Me Crazy. It's been a favorite of mine since my tween years due to the cute, funny storyline. When I was watching it, I couldn't help but imagine what it would be like if Stiles and Jackson were in the lead roles. 
> 
> Hope you enjoy my reworking of the story. 
> 
> Story title from (You Drive Me) Crazy by Britney Spears  
> Chapter title from Nothing to Lose by Josh Gracin

“So, let me get this straight,” Stiles Stilinski said as he talked to his neighbor Jackson across the hedge that separated their two yards. “You got dumped by queen bee Lydia Martin, and you want to get back at her by dating ME?” 

Jackson shrugged his jacket on tighter and rolled his eyes that he has to explain this again. “No, Stiles. Not actually dating you. I just want to—“

“Make her jealous by taking one of the school nerds and parading him around the school saying you’ve got a new fuck buddy?”

Jackson just raised an eyebrow at this. “How did we used to be friends again?”

Stiles crossed his arms. “We were 7, and not allowed to go out of our yards,” he said, voice still dripping with “why are we still here?” 

“You never were an easy one Stilinski. Listen, I’ve seen you around school. I know you’ve been riding the broken heart train too. What was his name?”

“Whose name?” 

“The guy that left you all mopey around school. You haven’t even pranked the school since 2 weeks ago when you turned all the water in the sprinkler system orange.”  
Stiles sighed and rubbed his eyes. “His name was Derek, and yeah. I liked him. A lot.”

Jackson smiled that his plan was going well. “So this is your chance, Stilinski. If he sees you moping around all sad and shit, then Derek, who, I have on good authority has moved on, wins.” Jackson stepped closer to the hedge and rested his arms on it in front of Stiles. “But if he sees you with someone who is much hotter than he is, he’d know how badly he fucked up.”

Stiles thought about this for a second. The asshole has a point. Not even 2 days after the break up, Derek was already going around the school hand in hand with that  
Braden chick. Nearly made him want to give up on the whole idea of dating. At least while in high school. 

“Alright, Jackson. I’ll think about it.” 

Jackson grinned. “Is that an early yes?” 

“No, it means I’ll have to think about it,” Stiles retorted. “What you just asked of me is not a simple request, Jackson. You’re asking me to not only change my style, which I’ve spent time perfecting—“

“You’re seriously wearing a Batman shirt and pajama pants with the Minions all over them right now, Stiles,” Jackson interrupted, raising an eyebrow. “Not really a style.” 

“It’s comfortable,” Stiles defended. “Now stop interrupting me. This is a lot to just jump into. What if this works? What do we do? What if it doesn’t end well? This is like when Isaac convinced me to watch How I Met Your Mother, and the ending made me wish they’d just named the show ‘Kids, Your Mom’s Dead. Can I Go Fuck Your  
Aunt Robin?’” 

Jackson reached out and grabbed Stiles’ shoulder. “Stiles, dude. You’re rambling. It’s okay. I wasn’t expecting an answer right away.”

“Are you sure?” Stiles asked, coming down from his nervous place. 

“Yeah,” Jackson answered, taking a piece of paper out of his pocket, and writing on it. “Just call me tonight when you have your answer.” 

Stiles took the paper and slipped it into his pocket. “Okay, Jackson. I’ll let you know.” And with that, he turned to go into the house. 

“Stiles wait!” Jackson called out. Stiles stopped and turned around. “It’s okay if you don’t want to do this. I understand completely.”

“Thanks, Jackson,” Stiles said with a smile. Probably the first smile he’s thrown in Jackson’s direction in 10 years. “I’ll call you tonight.”

Jackson started to go inside himself but stopped. “Oh, also, Stiles?” 

“Yeah?”

“The real alternate title to How I Met Your Mother is All The Women I Fucked Before Your Mom.” 

Stiles laughed. “That’s pretty good,” he said before going inside and shutting his door.

Inside the Stilinski home, Stiles started up the stairs, but was stopped by his father Noah sitting on the couch, pretending to watch TV. 

“Were you just talking to Jackson Whittemore?” Noah asked. 

Stiles stopped on the third stair and looked into the living room. “Yeah, I was,” he replied. 

“You haven’t talked to him since—“

“Since the second grade, yeah.”

Feeling that this was gonna be a long conversation, Stiles backed down the stairs and went to sit with his dad. 

“So, how did that come about?” Noah asked, muting the baseball game he had been watching. “The last time you even said his name, it was followed by ‘can go rot in a ditch.’”

Stiles reaches onto the coffee table and snatches a chicken wing off of a plate that Noah is definitely not supposed to have anyway, but he’s gonna let that slide. “Well things could be looking back up.”

“What did you two talk about?”

“I was the damnedest thing,” Stiles started. “He just wanted to see how I was.” He’s amazed at how easy the lie comes out. He knows at some point he’ll have to tell his dad the truth, but he wants to make sure he’s actually going to go through with Jackson’s plan before he tells anybody. 

“Well, it’s good you’re getting back out there and talking to people again,” Noah tells his son. “You’ve been too mopey since things ended between you and that Hale boy.”

At least just hearing Derek’s last name no longer feels like a pin to Stiles’ heart. It's now more of an annoying flick, designed to piss him off more than to cause actual harm. “I’m getting better with that, actually.” 

“Well, that’s good,” Noah told his son. “At least you can stop singing that Alanis Morissette song over and over. You know how weird it is to hear your son belt out the line ‘Are you thinking of me when you fuck her?’” 

Stiles gets up from his seat. “Okay, dad. Good talk. I’m gonna go up to my room and think about some stuff now. And please, never say that again.” He moves out of the living room and runs up stairs. 

“Great chat, son!” Noah called up before unmuting the TV and watching the rest of the game. 

In his bedroom, Stiles flipped on his stereo and laid down on the bed. The soft soothing beat of the music playing on his preferred soft rock station washed over him as he mulled over what Jackson had asked of him.

He needed to think this completely through. What pros and cons did this plan have? Faking an emotion as powerful as love couldn’t be all that healthy, especially with someone you’ve kinda hated for 10 years. 

Pro: The look on Derek Hale’s dumb, stupid face when he sees Stiles walking into school hand in hand with Jackson “I’m everybody’s type” Whittemore.

Con: What psychological effects would this have? Was there a chance he could actually fall for Jackson? 

As he laid on his bed, he found himself drifting off to his thoughts and the music filled the room. 

***

The next morning, Stiles stepped out of his house and slung his bag over his shoulder as he made his way to the trusty blue jeep sitting in his driveway. He was already starting to run late, on a day that he so could not afford to. Big quiz in physics, and Harris is a bitch about tardiness on regular days, so he definitely doesn’t want to risk anything today.

Right as he climbs into the jeep, he hears a voice calling his name. “No way, Stilinski,” He turns around to see Jackson in his driveway, standing beside his Porsche. 

“What do you mean ‘No way?’” he asks defensively. 

Jackson closes the door of his car and walks up to Stiles. “I mean no way is my fake boyfriend arriving to school in that piece of crap.” Before Stiles could protest,  
Jackson took Stiles’ hand and led him away from the jeep to his own car. 

Stiles sat down in the leather passenger seat of Jackson’s car and took in his thoughts. “I guess we’re really doing this,” he said as Jackson got into the passenger seat. 

“Don’t worry, Stiles,” Jackson said. “It’s only pretend.” He smiled before throwing the car into reverse and backing out of the driveway. 

***

Stiles awoke with butterflies in his stomach. He didn’t know what the dream he had meant but he felt he’d thought over the plan enough. 

Digging through his pocket, he retrieved his cell phone and the paper with Jackson’s number. Dialing the number, he felt the wibbly feeling in his stomach start to subside. 

“Is this you, Stilinski?” Jackson’s voice sounded in his ear as Stiles got up and walked to his window. 

“Yeah. Go to your window.”

Stiles watched the top floor window for a few seconds until Jackson appeared, looking back at him. “So did you make a decision?” Jackson asked. 

“I did. But I want to talk about it in person. Meet me in my old clubhouse.” 

Jackson just shrugged. “Five minutes good enough for you?”

“It is.” Stiles hung up and waved to his neighbor before departing the room and going to his backyard. 

Jackson put his phone in his pocket and followed Stiles' lead. "This better be good," he mumbled, closing his bedroom door.


	2. The House Rules

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stiles and Jackson lay down the rules of their relationship.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title from the song The House Rules by Christian Kane

Stiles stood in his backyard beside the old shed that had been there since before Noah and Claudia Stilinski moved into that house 20 years ago. When Stiles and Jackson became friends at 5, Noah cleaned and painted the shed for them to have a place to play. The two boys dubbed the place “The Clubhouse.”

After the fallout between the two boys, Stiles made a new friend in Scott McCall, who subsequently took Jackson’s place in the shed. It fell out of use around their 13th year. 

Now, Stiles is standing at the door, hands in his pockets, waiting for Jackson to show up. After a few minutes, he grabbed his phone and started to dial Jackson’s number. As soon as the screen illuminated the darkness, Stiles jumped back at the sudden appearance of Jackson. 

“Jesus!” he shouted, his back colliding with the wooden door of the shed. “Do I need to get you a bell?’

“Are we just going to stand out here, or can we go sit down?” was all Jackson had to ask. Stiles turned around and opened the door to the shed. 

“After you, Jackson.”

Jackson shrugged and slipped past Stiles into the shed. Inside, things weren’t much different than they’d been 10 years ago. 

“This place seemed bigger when we were kids,” Jackson said as he sat down against one of the walls. Stiles sat on the wall opposite of him and lit the candle that was in the middle of the floor. 

“So I did some thinking about your offer,” Stiles said, placing the lighter back on the small shelf he got it from. “I have something I need to know before I make my   
final decision.”

“What’s that?” 

“Why me?”

Jackson leaned forward. “What do you mean ‘why you?’”

“I mean, you’re like the hottest guy in school,” Stiles began. “You could literally have anybody you want. Guy, girl, or farm animal if that strikes your fancy.”

Jackson looked squicked out by the last option. “It does not. But I see what you’re getting at.” 

“Why did you choose me for this harebrained scheme? I’m literally nobody at school. I’m the spaz who can barely stay upright, who protests the Lacrosse team getting more funding than the arts, and got dumped by the biggest social justice warrior to exist outside of Tumblr,” Stiles rambled. “Why would Lydia give two shits about you dating me?” 

Jackson shifted in his spot. “You’re right I could have anybody. But anybody would also want me. I know how you’ve felt about me for a long time, and so does the rest of the school.”

“How do they know?”

“It’s a small town, Stiles. Everybody knows everybody’s life. But like I was saying, I don’t want any of them. Lydia knows that they’d jump at the chance to be with me. If she saw me with you, she’d know you made me work for it. And even if this doesn’t make her jealous, she’d see that I’ve moved on.”

“I still don’t see how this still affects her in any way,” was all Stiles managed to say. 

Jackson laughed a bit. “She once told me that nobody just moves on from her. I want to prove her wrong.”

Stiles rubbed the bridge of his nose in frustration. “Jesus I hate high school,” he sighed. He lifted his head to look at his companion. “Okay, I’ll do it.”

“Jackson was a bit stunned to be honest. He didn’t think Stilinski would go for this. “Really?”

“I have a few ground rules, though,” Stiles stated. 

“I’m open to your suggestions,” Jackson said, straightening up to pay attention.

“Okay, rule number one: we keep our stories straight.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“I mean I can’t say something like you invited me to a movie and we just went from there, while you’re off telling your friends some bullshit like I bumped into your shopping cart at the grocery store.”

“That sounds imperative,” Jackson agreed. 

“Great,” Stiles said. “Okay, rule two: We need to set some PDA boundaries.”

“Why?”

“God, you’re so dense, Jackson,” Stiles facepalmed. “Did you not think anything about this through? I’m making this up off the top of my head, and still thought of more than you.”

Jackson stood up and started to leave the shed. “I knew asking you was a mistake, Stiles.”

“Oh, Jesus Christ, Jackson, just sit down. This isn’t going to be something easy to just jump into.”

Jackson didn’t know why, but he went back to his spot and sat down in front of Stiles. “When did you become so bossy?” he asked.

Stiles smirked. “Around the same time you became an impatient ass. Now, about boundaries. We both have to agree on any moves made.” 

“How about we do this in levels?” Jackson asked. “Like level one, holding hands. Level two, I put my arm around you—“

“Why am I the little spoon?”

“Because you’re shorter than me.”

“By two inches!” Stiles defended himself. Jackson jus smirked back at him. “Okay, fine. Level two is your arm around my shoulder. Is level 3 a kiss, then?”

“If that’s what you want, yeah,” Jackson replied. He then raised an eyebrow. “Do you want to kiss me, Stilinski?”

“Uh….Why—why do you ask that?” Stiles stammered.

“You’re the one who brought it up.”

In fact, Stiles had thought about kissing Jackson. Granted, at that time, he was 13 and had just discovered his homosexuality, and any attractive male in eyesight prompted some kind of fantasy. And yes, he thought Jackson was attracted. He wasn’t blind. 

“Okay, fine, yes. I have thought about what it would be like,” Stiles admitted. “You happy now?” 

Jackson slid the candle away and scooted closer to Stiles. “You know, since we’re fake boyfriends now,” he started, leaning in close enough that Stiles could smell his cherry chapstick. “We should probably practice that, right?”

Stiles seriously considered it. Like, really considered it. They would have to break this boundary at some point. 

Snapping out of this thought, he placed a finger on Jackson’s (Admittedly soft) lips. “Like I’m going to jump straight to level 3,” he said, pushing the boy away. 

Jackson went back to his original spot on the floor. “Is that it for your ground rules?” he asked. 

“That’s about it,” Stiles said, blowing out the candle and standing up. 

Jackson stood up with him. “Can I request something?” he asked as he walked to the door. 

“Sure. You’re a partner in this thing too,” Stiles said. “Maybe majority partner, seeing as how it was your idea.”

“I want to go on a practice date with you tomorrow,” Jackson blurted out. “Just a trip to the mall. We can work out those ‘How this started’ details you were talking about earlier.” 

“Okay,” Stiles agreed. “I can do that. We would have to spend real time together anyway to see if this would even work.”

They both left the shed as Stiles shut the door and clicked the padlock shut. 

“You know I still have my old key,” Jackson said as they started walking away. “It’s in my desk drawer with a picture from back then.”

“You still have pictures of us?” Stiles asked. “I wish I’d kept mine.”

“I’ll make you some copies,” Jackson said, smiling. A rare genuine smile from him. “I’d better get back home. Pick you up tomorrow at noon?” 

“Sure,” Stiles replied. “I’ll be ready. Just text if you want to hash out some more details.”

Jackson turned to his house and started walking. “I will.”

“Or if you want to just talk!” Stiles yelled at the departing Jackson. 

“Goodnight, Stiles!” Jackson shouted as he reached his house and entered.

Stiles smiled as he walked into his house. This could be fun, he thought. 

Back in his own house, Jackson tried to walk past his mom, who was sitting on the couch, watching some Investigation Discovery murder documentary. “Where’d you go?” she asked, turning around on the couch to face her son. 

“Just next door,” Jackson answered, putting his hoodie on a coat hook by the door and starting upstairs. 

“With the Stilinski boy?” she asked. “I thought you two weren’t friends anymore.”

“Well, things change,” Jackson said, this time going upstairs before his mom could ask him another question. Entering his room, he looked out of his window and saw into Stiles’ room. Stiles was sitting at his desk, looking at a book. 

He then sat down on his bed, replaying the events of their meeting in his head. Is this really happening? Did he really almost kiss Stilinski? More importantly, why was he a little disappointed when Stiles pushed him away? 

He pushed that thought out of his head for a better one. Even if this whole fake boyfriend thing doesn’t work out, maybe restarting the friendship wouldn’t be out of the question.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter.


	3. Say You'll Be There

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jackson picks Stiles up for their first date, and have a discussion about music along the way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> as an I'm Sorry for procrastinating and publishing 2 one shots, and giving my readers a case of the sads with "Stay," I'm proud to say I've finished chapter 3 of this one! It's mostly filler, but sets up what chapter four is gonna be. Hope you enjoy it.
> 
> Title song: Say You'll Be There by Spice Girls
> 
> This chapter also contains an exerpt of the song "My Church" by Maren Morris.

Stiles lumbered into the kitchen, and was ecstatic to find that his father had made a giant pot of coffee before he left for work. “Thank you, GOD,” he said up to the ceiling as he reached into a cabinet to retrieve his favorite Batman coffee mug. 

After filling his cup, and taking that first sip of sweet, glorious liquid life, he felt his phone buzz in the pocket of his pajama pants. Looking at the screen, he sees the caller ID read “Jackass” and reluctantly answers it. 

“You couldn’t let me finish my first cup of coffee?” he asks in lieu of the standard greeting of “hello.”

“Did you forget, Stiles?” Jackson’s voice chimes over the speaker. “I’m taking you out on our first date today.”

Stiles groaned. He did forget. “Shit, sorry, Jax,” he groaned. “I didn’t sleep well last night, and it completely slipped my mind.”

“You okay?” Jackson asked, a hint of worry in his voice. “You want to reschedule so you can catch up on sleep?”

“Careful there, Whittemore,” Sitiles replied. “You’re starting to sound like an actual boyfriend.”

“Really? Did Derek offer to reschedule your dates?” 

“What makes you ask that?”

“The number of times I’ve seen you following him out of that house, looking like you’d rather be going anywhere else”

Stiles drained his coffee and started back upstairs. “Yeah, it was mainly to another anti animal testing rally. Like, I told him how I felt about that. Sure, I get it. Animals are being hurt, and it sucks. But those people look at graphic pictures of side effects on bunnies. I mean, who wants to see that?”

He was back in his room by the time he’d finished rambling. 

“Are we still going out?” Jackson asked.

“Are you gonna make me look at pictures of vivisected bunnies?”

Jackson laughed. “No cut open bunnies. Just hanging around the mall. Maybe see a movie. I know you’re probably dying to see Justice League.”

Stiles fished around his closet for something to wear, turning down nearly everything he came across, for not feeling like date material. “Actually, I promised Scott I’d see that with him next week.”

“Well, we could do whatever you want then,” Jackson said. “I just think we’d do better if we hung out together.”

Stiles draped his chosen clothing across his arm and closed the closet door. “Okay. We’ll just figure it out as we go along,” he said, moving toward his bathroom. “But I’d better get showered if we’re gonna do anything.”

“Sounds good,” Jackson replied. “I’ll be over in 30 to pick you up.” And with that, he hung up. 

“Yeah, goodbye to you too, Jackass,” Stiles snarked, setting his phone on the bathroom counter, before getting In the shower. 

Thirty minutes later, Jackson knocked on the Stilinski door. After the bell stopped, the next thing he heard was a small thump coming down the stairs, followed by Stiles shouting “DAMN IT!” 

Jackson bit the inside of his cheek to stifle the giggle building up in his throat as Stiles recovered and opened the door. 

“You okay there, Stilinski?” he asked, seeing Stiles’ frazzled expression. 

“Yeah,” Stiles replied, breathlessly. “That third stair from the bottom is just an asshole.” 

Jackson then looked at Stiles’ choice in clothing. Mainly the T-shirt with a picture of Rick Sanchez on the front that says “You are a piece of shit, and I can prove it mathematically,” and a Flash baseball hat. 

“What’s up, Jackson?”

“Do you own any clothing that doesn’t have a cartoon character or superhero on it?” he asked sardonically. 

“Nope. Even my boxers have a Superman logo across the ass.” Stiles stepped out of the house, locking the door behind him. “So, are we gonna do this?” he asked. 

Jackson simply stepped aside and let Stiles lead the way down the path to the driveway. 

Stiles walked up to his jeep and started to open the door. “Actually,” Jackson called out, stopping Stiles in his tracks. “I thought we’d take my car.” Stiles shrugged, and crossed over into the Whittemore driveway. 

“I take it you’re driving?” Stiles asked, headed to the passenger’s seat. 

“You’re right,” Jackson replied. “Nobody drives this baby but me.” 

Jackson then climbed into the car, and Stiles followed suit. Buckling up the second his butt hit the plush leather of the seat. 

“Holy crap,” Stiles muttered. “That is fucking comfortable.” 

“Porche,” Jackson said in return. “Nothing but the best.” 

He cranked the car, the engine but a purr barely heard under the sounds of Sam Hunt singing Body Like a Back Road. Jackson quickly reached for the radio knob, but 

Stiles stopped him. “I like this song,” he simply said. 

Jackson shrugged and backed the car out of the driveway. They drove in silence for a few minutes, until the song ended. Stiles then looked to this left. “I didn’t know you like country music.”

Jackson looked straight ahead. “There are some artists out there who really speak to me,” he said. “Sam Hunt, Maren Morris, Kacey Musgraves, especially.” 

“Really?”

“Yeah. Hit the next button on that CD twice.” 

Stiles did as he was told, the car was filled with the gentle strum of a guitar.

“I’ve cussed on a Sunday  
I’ve cheated and I’ve lied  
I’ve fallen down from grace  
A few too many times”

the female voice sang out, before going on to compare the power of loud music to going to church. 

“I like this one,” Stiles said softly, taking in the melody. “I didn’t expect it from you.” 

“What did you expect?” Jackson asked, curiously. “My music isn’t something I’m really open about to people.”

“And yet, you shared it with me?”

“A little against my will,” Jackson laughed. “I literally forgot that I left the radio on the last time I was in the car.” 

Jackson turned into a turning lane, and pulled into the parking lot of the Beacon Hills mall. After finding a parking spot within adequate walking distance, Jackson turned to Stiles, peering at him through his sunglasses. “You ready to make our big debut as a couple, boyfriend?” 

“Level one only,” Stiles reminded his fake boyfriend as he unlatched his seatbelt and got out of the car. Jackson climbed out and met him on the other side with lighting speed that made Stiles jokingly think he teleported. 

Stiles then reached down and took Jackson’s hand. This simple action made his heart skip a beat. “Lead the way,” Stiles said. 

“So, what’s our first stop?’ he asked, as they entered the building. 

“I was thinking,” Jackson began. “Since I shared my music with you, you could do the same.” He then pulled Stiles in the direction of FYE. “So, which way?” he asked, looking Stiles in the eye. Stiles smirked, as he let go of Jackson’s hand, and walked toward the CD section. 

By the time Jackson caught up with him in the middle of the Pop section, Stiles already had 3 discs in his hands. He handed them to Jackson. “Okay, here’s a starter for you in getting to know my music taste,” he said. Jackson looked at the discs. 

“Spice by Spice Girls, No Strings Attached by N*Sync, and Millennium by Backstreet Boys?” Jackson asked, reading off the titles. “You realize not one of these albums came out after we were born.”

“I know that,” Stiles retorted. “I just really like this music. My radio doesn’t leave 101.3.

“What’s that? Some light rock ‘Music everybody in the office can agree on’ station?” 

“It’s just what I like,” Stiles defended. “I also like new stuff, like One Direction and I LOVE Kesha’s new album. But the music that really speaks to me? It’s all about the 90s.” 

“Cool. I’ll get these and check them out,” Jackson said, still looking at the CDs. And I’ll pick out 3 of my albums for you.”

As they turned to walk to the country music section, a deep voice stopped Stiles right in his tracks. “Stiles, is that you?” 

Both Stiles and Jackson turned around to see a tall, scruffy young man standing there, his arm around a girl who was shorter than him, with a resting bitch face, that may not be just ‘resting.’ 

“Hi, Derek,” Stiles said softly.


	4. Home Alone Tonight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stiles and Jackson reveal their "relationship" to Stiles' ex Derek, and Jackson crafts Stiles' new look.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about that cliffhanger! Hopefully this resolves it to your liking!
> 
> Chapter song: Home Alone Tonight by Luke Bryan and Karen Fairchild

“Hi, Derek,” Stiles said softly, his eyes shifting to the ground, not wanting to make eye contact with his ex, or his ex’s new girlfriend. 

“What’s going on here?” Derek asked, pointing to Jackson. “With him, no less.”

“I’m allowed to go to the mall,” Stiles said, defensively. 

Seizing an opportunity, Jackson reached down and grabbed Stiles’ hand. “And he’s with me, because we’re dating,” Jackson said, proudly. 

“Yeah, right,” Derek scoffed. “Stiles would never go for someone in your crowd, Whittemore.”

This got Stiles’ attention. “Why do you even care?” he asked. “And what are you doing in here anyway? How many times did you tell me that chain stores like this were killing the music industry?”

“Braeden and I saw you in the window, and I wanted to see how you were doing.” He almost sounded sincere. Too bad Stiles wasn’t buying it. 

“Well, you said hello,” Stiles began. “Now I’d like to get back to my date. Sure your girlfriend would like the same.” He said, gesturing to Braeden, who had gone from “bitch face” to “bored out of her mind.” 

“Goodbye then, Stiles,” Derek said, before turning his head to Jackson. “Hope you have better luck with this one than I did.”

“Run along now Derek,” Jackson replied. “I’m sure there’s a protest for the rights of the North African Spider Wasp you’re dying to get to. 

With that, Derek and Braeden turned and left the two boys in the music store.

As soon as they were out of earshot, Stiles leapt in the air. “Holy shit!” he exclaimed, grabbing on to Jackson’s shoulders, and jumping more. “It worked! It fucking worked!” 

Jackson turned around, and placed his hand on Stiles’ head, stopping the jumping. “Stiles, Stiles. People are looking at us.”

“Did you see his face when you grabbed my hand?” Stiles asked, still excited. “I bet if you’d kissed me, his head would’ve exploded.” 

Jackson laughed. “Next time, maybe,” he said, taking Stiles’ hand again, and starting their walk through the store again. 

Stiles looked down at their joined hands, thinking about how right it felt. 

After the music store, with three new CDs of his own in a shopping bag, Stiles and Jackson walked through the mall, Jackson still leading the way. 

“You can’t tell me where we’re going?” Stiles said, following as Jackson pulled him across the crowded shopping center by his hand. 

“I told you, Stiles, it’s a surprise,” Jackson said, rolling his eyes. “Besides, were almost there.” 

“Okay,” Stiles conceded. But after we’re done, I get to pick next, and I’m picking Cinnabon.” 

“We’re here,” Jackson announced, stopping in front of his desired location.

Of fucking course, he was taking Stiles to Nordstrom. One shirt in this place would cost more than what’s in his wallet and savings combined. 

“I can’t go in here, Jackson,” Stiles said low. “I’d be so out of place.”

“That’s why you’re with me,” Jackson said reassuringly. “Come on, I said I’d have to give you a style makeover soon.”

“But literally on the first day? I can’t buy anything in here anyway!”

Jackson patted Stiles’ shoulder and pulled his wallet out of his pocket. “I said that’s why you’re with me.”

He put his wallet back, and pulled Stiles into the store, toward the men’s department. 

Once they’re where they need to be, Jackson stands in front of Stiles and looks him over, up and down, multiple times. 

“What are you doing?” Stiles asks, looking around the store.

“Trying to guess your size,” Jackson said, not even breaking his concentration.

“And you didn’t ask me, because?” 

“You’re forgetting I was just dumped by Lydia Martin,” Jackson replied, finishing his mental scan. “I asked once her size because I wanted to surprise her with a dress for a party my family is hosting. I had to learn how to do concealer make-up on YouTube to hide the shiner.” 

“I don’t know whether to laugh or be afraid of her,” Stiles said, walking to a display of nice shirts, and running his hand over one. “Especially since the point of this exercise is to be all ‘Neener neener’ at her.” 

Jackson raised an eyebrow. “’Neener neener?’” he asked. “Is that the technical term for our mission to make her see I’ve moved on fine without her?’ 

“Yes, it is,” Stiles said, picking up a light green shirt and holding it up to his chest. 

“Not a good color on you,” Jackson said, reaching to the table, and picking up the same shirt in a light blue. He held it up to Stiles, and smiled. “This one, definitely. Go try it on.” 

Stiles put the green shirt back on the shelf and took the blue. “I’m assuming since this is your domain, you can tell me where the dressing room is?” 

Jackson raised an eyebrow at him. 

“What?” Stiles asked defensively. “I don’t shop here!”

“Of course you don’t,” Jackson snarked. “They don’t sell shirts with superheroes on them.”

“Again with my clothes? It’s just what I like, Jackson. I didn’t know there’s a fucking dress code to fake date you.”

The two boys arrived at the dressing room. “This whole thing isn’t going to work if you keep on bring up the fact that we’re not really dating, Stiles,” Jackson told him, as he showed Stiles which door to go into. “Just try the shirt on, and let me see.” 

Stiles rolled his eyes and took the shirt. After going into the designated room, Stiles replaced his T-shirt with the one that Jackson picked out. 

“Holy shit,” Stiles whispered, looking at his reflection. It was like someone had put his head on the torso of a model. 

“Everything okay in there?” Jackson’s voice sounded from outside the dressing room door. 

“Uh…yeah,” Stiles said, unsure of what to think. “Wait, did you follow me back here?”

“Let me in,” Jackson called out, trying to wiggle the doorknob. 

“NO!” Stiles shouted. “Occupancy one!” 

“Just…come on, Stiles,” Jackson said again. 

“Is there a problem, sir?” A female voice suddenly sounded. Stiles’ eyes went wide. 

“Uh, yeah, there is,” Jackson replied. “My boyfriend is having a panic attack in the dressing room. Could you let me in?”

Stiles rolled his eyes and opened the door. “Okay, fine, Jackson. What did you want?”

“Never mind,” Jackson smiled to the clerk, who put her key chain back in the pocket of her pants and walked away. Jackson then pushed past Stiles into the room.

“That was sneaky,” Stiles started to rant. “And underhanded, and—“

“Everything you would’ve done if the situation were reversed,” Jackson interrupted. “Shirt looks good. See how they pair with these,” he said, handing Stiles a pair of pants. 

"I like to think I have a better respect for privacy than that," Stiles said as he snatched the pants out of Jackson's hand. “Skinny jeans? I don’t fucking think so.”

“Why not?”

“Because I like my balls unsquished by a wall of fabric?” Stiles looked at the pants. “Pre-ripped? Come on. I make fun of people who wear this shit.”

“Just try them? For me?” Jackson asked, turning to the door. “I promise it will be the last thing I bring you.”

Stiles contemplated this. “You know this isn’t my normal style.”

“That’s why I’m doing this,” Jackson replied. “You know how big of a fuck you this will be to Derek? He broke your heart and then just waltzed over to that bitchy looking chick who gave you the stank eye the whole time we were in the music store? If he sees you walking into school on Monday, looking the hottest you’ve ever looked, he will see how badly he fucked up when he dumped you.” 

“Fine. Just go wait for me,” Stiles said, as he opened the door and pushed Jackson out. 

A few minutes later, Jackson was sitting on a bench outside of the dressing room, waiting on Stiles, when his phone rang. It was a text from Stiles. 

From: Spaz  
Time: 3:34pm  
Message: Hot enough for you?

Followed by a photo Stiles had taken in the outfit Jackson had picked out. This was a much different Stilinski than he’d been used to. This looks like someone cut   
Stiles’ head out of a picture and pasted it to a model in a catalogue.

Back in the dressing room, Stiles put his own clothes back on. As soon as his pants were all the way up, his phone buzzed in his pocket. 

From Jackass  
Time: 3:36pm  
Message: Too hot for words.

Stiles smirked at that, as he gathered the folded new clothes and walked out of the room. 

“You looked great,” Jackson said, as Stiles reached him at the bench. “You ready for that Cinnabon now?” 

Stiles handed the new clothes to Jackson. “You bet I am,” he said with a smile as the two boys walked to the nearest cash register.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, there's another chapter. This is shaping up to be one of the LONGEST fics I've ever written. I'm surprised you guys are sticking with this, considering I promised a Drive Me Crazy adaptation, and only used the bare plot of the movie. (Also, this has become my most "Kudos"d fic yet! Closing in on 100! thank all of ya'll who love this story! I promise more action soon!


	5. I Want It That Way

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stiles and Jackson psych Derek out more, and tell Noah that they're dating.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have no damn clue how this chapter got to be so long, but I hope you guys enjoy it anyway! Sorry it took so long. I had a lot I want to get done in it. 
> 
> Title song: I Want It That Way by The Backstreet Boys

After they checked out, Stiles led the way to the stand to get his giant cinnamon bun with two forks. They then found a table and cracked the box open between them. 

“I have one question about this,” Stiles asked, licking a spot of icing off of his finger. 

“What’s that?” Jackson, said, answering a question with another question. 

“When do we tell our parents about us? I mean, we’d almost have to, right?”

Jackson speared another piece of pastry on the end of his fork. “Not almost. I think we should.”

“You do?” 

“Yeah, I mean, the only way this is gonna work is if everybody thinks its official. Including our parents.”

“My dad has day shift today,” Stiles said, as he finished the last of his half of the cinnamon roll. “You could join us for dinner.”

“Are you sure?” Jackson asked, placing his fork in the empty box and closing it. “I don’t want to put you guys out.”

“Are you kidding?” Stiles replied. “I have to repay you somehow for everything you did today! You’re coming to dinner tonight.” 

“If I have to,” Jackson said, feigning reservation about it. “What time do you want me over?”

“Dad comes home about 6:30,” Stiles began. “I’ll probably have dinner ready by 7, so sometime in between will work.” He then looked at his watch. “Shit. Which means we have to go now for me to get it ready.”

“Well, let’s go,” Jackson said, gathering his bags. Stiles did the same, and they headed out of the food court. 

“Shit,” Stiles cursed, as he saw Derek standing by the door to the parking garage. He then shifted his bags to his right hand, and took Jackson’s hand with his left. 

Jackson looked down in surprise. “Up ahead,” Stiles whispered, as they got closer to Derek. 

Jackson smiled with an idea popping up in his head. “We’ve gotta go level 2,” he whispered to Stiles. He then let go of Stiles’ hand and wrapped his arm around the other boy’s shoulder. “Why?” Stiles asked, looking up at his fake boyfriend. “To re-enforce to Derek that you have someone new. Someone who wants to keep you  
safe. Be your shield against the world.” 

“What makes you think I need shielding?” Stiles asked, as they approached Derek. 

“Just lay your head on my shoulder and smile,” Jackson whispered. “Trust me on this.” 

Stiles did as he was told. They walked out the door, past Derek, who gave them an immediate look. 

“Did you have fun today, baby?” Jackson said, loud enough for Derek to hear. Stiles, sensing what Jackson was up to, smiled big. “I did, Jax,” he said, causing Derek to roll his eyes in frustration and go back inside. 

Once Stiles and Jackson got to the car, Stiles shrugged out of Jackson’s grip. “Oh, my god, we totally got him!” Jackson cheered, putting his and Stiles’ bags in the backseat before getting into the car. Stiles followed him into the passenger seat. “That was fucking amazing, Jackson!” he nearly shouted. “How did you come up with that?”

“I was honestly just winging it,” Jackson replied, starting the car. “Hey, get one of those CDs you picked out. The bags are in the back.”

Stiles reached behind him and grabbed the first CD in the bag that he could feel. Without even looking, he pulled the disc out of the case and slipped it into the player. 

The sounds of Larger than Life by Backstreet Boys flowed out of the car’s sound system. 

“Oh, this is PERFECT,” Stiles exclaimed, buckling his seatbelt so Jackson could get going. The boys put their windows down and drove through the town, enjoying the wind in their faces as Stiles sang along with the song as loud as he could. Jackson couldn’t help but smile at the sight. 

Before long, Jackson was pulling the car into his driveway. Once they were stopped, Stiles grabbed his bags out of the backseat, and stepped out as Jackson did the same. 

“I really did have a lot of fun,” Stiles said, before he turned to go back to his house. “Thanks.”

“You’re not saying that because I—“

“It’s not because of the clothes or the new music, which I really can’t wait to listen to,” Stiles interrupted, knowing what Jackson was gonna say. “Thanks for that with Derek. As much time he’s spent these past couple weeks rubbing it in my face that he was able to get someone new, it felt good to do that to him for once.”

“I didn’t want to say it,” Jackson began, “But Derek is a real dumbass. You’re a great guy, Stiles. If nothing else comes from this plan, I’d really like to be friends again.”

“I’d like that too,” Stiles replied. “You’re not so bad yourself. See you around 7,” he smiled and then walked to his house. 

Jackson went inside his house, and up to the bedroom. As soon as he sat down on the bed, his phone rang. Without looking at the screen, he answered it. “I’m seeing you in 2 hours, Stilinski. What is it?”

“Stilinski?” The other voice asked. “As in Stiles? So the rumors are true?”

“What rumors, Danny?” The voice on the other end of the line was Jackson’s best friend Danny Mehelani. 

“The rumors that you walked through the mall all lovey lovey with the Sheriff’s son,” Danny chirped, barely holding back a laugh.

“They’re not rumors,” Jackson said, flatly. “They’re true. Stiles and I are…We’re a thing now. “

“He’s cute, I’ll give you that,” Danny said. 

“He is. I was caught off guard by how cute he is,” Jackson looked out the window to see Stiles on his bed, talking on the phone. Most likely to that McCall kid he always hangs out with about the same subject. “Can you not tell anybody that you know it’s true?” Jackson asked, immediately facepalming at the implication of this question. 

“Yeah, man,” Danny replied. “Your secret’s safe with me. See you at school tomorrow. Bring your new guy to sit with us at lunch.” And with that Danny hung up the phone. He never was one for goodbyes. 

Jackson laid on his bed replaying the previous afternoon over in his head. How much fun it was to be out with Stiles, to tell Derek off, to show Derek he hadn’t won. It was really one of the best days ever. He drifted off to sleep to his thoughts. 

Two hours later Jackson was ripped out of his nap by the chorus of Hunter Hayes’ song Rescue coming out of his phone. He looked at the clock on his table. 

7:10. “SHIT!” he groaned, reaching for the phone, and answering it. 

“Someone’s late,” Stiles’ singsong voice said the second he put the phone up to his ear. “Yeah, I’m sorry,” Jackson groaned, still shaking the sleep out of his voice. “I stupidly fell asleep right when I got home.” 

“Hey, it’s cool,” Stiles said. “Just come on now. My dad’s getting squirrely. We’re having lasagna, and according to him, it’s one of the only edible things I let him have.” 

“Sure. Talk in a minute, Stiles.” 

“Bye.” Jackson put his phone in his pocket, and headed downstairs. 

Walking down the stairs, Jackson passed his mom, who was on her way up. “Oh, where are you going, Jackson?” his mom asked before he could walk away. 

“Over to Stiles’ for dinner,” he said, turning back to her. 

“Dinner? Really?” 

“Yeah,” he replied. “We spent all day hanging out, and he invited me over. That’s cool, right?”

“Of course it is, honey,” Jackson’s mother smiled. “Just remember you have school tomorrow.”

“I know,” Jackson said, before completing his path down the stairs to the door. “I’ll see you later!” 

With that, he was out the door, and jogging across the yard to the Stilinski home, where Stiles was already waiting with the door open. 

“About time!” Stiles exclaimed as Jackson got there. “I thought I was gonna have to use his tazer on him to keep him out of the lasagna.” 

“I’d like to see you try, you little shit!” Stiles’ father Noah called out from the dining room. 

“I think we’d better get inside,” Stiles said, sheepishly. He then stepped aside and let Jackson in the house. 

Jackson marveled at the sameness of the Stilinski household. It had been a good 10 years since he last set foot in the dwelling, and it was like going back in time. 

“That your friend?” Noah called out from the dining room. 

“Yeah, he’s here,” Stiles hollered back. “You ready?” he asked, offering Jackson his hand. As much as he didn’t want to admit, he liked holding Jacksons hand; liked being in his arms earlier. They fit together well. “I figured we’d get the whole telling dad part done right away.”

“Sure,” Jackson replied, taking Stiles’ hand. The two then walked into the dining room. 

“Hey, dad,” Stiles said, as they entered the room. “Kinda have something to tell you.” 

Noah looked up and saw his son holding the hand of his former worst enemy. “What’s going on here?”

“Well, Dad, I’ve finally gotten over Derek!” Stiles cheered. 

“It’s true, Sheriff,” Jackson added. “When my girlfriend and I split up, I was really bad. My friend Danny told me about this app where people who’d been through bad break ups can go and talk to each other about it. That’s where I reconnected with Stiles. One day, we were talking, and something clicked. I asked him on a date yesterday, and we made it official.” 

Stiles looked at his faux boyfriend with astonishment at how Jackson made that up so believably on the spot.

“Is this true, Stiles?” Noah asked. 

That snapped Stiles out of his thoughts. “Uh, yeah, it is. Jackson is my boyfriend.” He gripped Jackson’s hand tighter and brought it up to his face to give it a quick kiss. 

“Well, are we done with this so we can eat?” was all Noah had to say about the situation. Stiles pointed at a seat for Jackson. When he was seated, Stiles took the seat beside him. “What are we waiting for?” Stiles chimed. “Dig in!”

Dinner couldn’t have gone any smoother. The three men laughed, shared stories about each other, and ate well. After everybody was finished with their dinner, Stiles excused himself to get the dessert. “Do you need any help?” Jackson asked. 

“No, I’ve got it,” Stiles said, walking into the kitchen. 

“I’m glad to have a moment alone with you,” Noah said to Jackson the second the door behind Stiles closed. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen Stiles as happy with someone as he is with you.” 

“Thank you, sir,” Jackson replied. “He’s a great guy. I’m glad we were able to reconnect.”

Noah rested his arms on the table and leaned forward. “Now I’m gonna tell you the same thing I wish I’d told the last one.”

Suddenly, the mood in the room dropped. Along with the temperature, it feels like. “What’s that?” Jackson asked, nervously. 

“Stiles did not take Derek breaking up with him well,” the town’s Sheriff began. “I mean, he locked himself in his bedroom, he went to school on autopilot, wouldn’t eat. I can’t watch him go through that again.”

“I have no intention of doing that to him, sir,” Jackson said firmly. 

“That’s good,” Noah continued. “Because if you break my son’s heart—“

“I know. You have a gun, and you’re not afraid to use it.”

“I’m more of a believer in the philosophy that dead doesn’t learn anything,” Noah said, narrowing his eyes. “No, you hurt Stiles in any way, and the next time you come to a traffic stop, a kilo of heroin will appear in the trunk of that Porsche. Got it?”

Stiles walked back into the dining room at that. “Oh, my god, Dad, don’t scare my boyfriend!” Stiles quickly sat the dessert on the table and sat down beside Jackson. “I’m so sorry about that, Jackson,” he said. “I’m looking into putting him into a home.” 

“Watch it, you,” Noah warned, before taking a small bite of his dessert. “Just looking out for you, son.” 

“Thanks, dad,” Stiles said, smiling. 

They finished dessert in relative silence. Noah’s threat obviously bubbling in Jackson’s brain. Even though they weren’t REALLY together, he was still now more afraid of doing something that would hurt Stiles. 

“I’m sorry,” Jackson said “I should probably get going home. Tomorrow’s a school night. I promised mom I’d be home early.”

“That’s more than fine,” Noah said, standing up and offering his hand. Jackson stood and shook the hand firmly. “It was nice to get to know you again, son.” 

“The pleasure’s all mine,” Jackson returned. “I mean what I said earlier. I really care about Stiles. 

“And I believe you.” He let go of Jackson’s hand. Stiles stood and held Jackson’s other hand. “Come on, Jax. I’ll walk you home.” 

“Goodbye, Mr. Stilinski,” Jackson said before he and Stiles left.

The two boys walked outside. When they got to the invisible line between the Stilinski and Whittemore homes, Stiles turned to Jackson. “So, it’s cool to know if this was real, he’d approve.”

“I’d say more than approve,” Jackson let out behind a laugh. “Has he ever threatened your other boyfriends with drugs planted in their cars?”

“No, you’re the first,” Stiles laughed. “Gotta admit, it’s a clever one.” Stiles stopped for a minute to figure out how to word his next question. "When are we gonna tell your mom?"

Jackson thought for a second. "Tomorrow after school work for you?"

"Don't you have practice?" Stiles asked. 

"No, that's Tuesdays," he replied.

"Tomorrow afternoon works for me," Stiles said, smiling. "Can't wait."

Jackson turned toward his house. “Talk to you tomorrow, Stiles. Thanks for dinner.” 

“Anytime,” Stiles replied. “I’m glad you enjoyed it.”

“Don’t’ forget to wear your new outfit.”

“I know. Tomorrow we make our big debut at school. Can’t wait.” With that, the two boys crossed over their yards and went into their respective houses to sleep and wait for the events tomorrow will bring.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is one thing about this chapter that was changed while writing. When Stiles and Jackson walked past Derek on the way out of the mall, Jackson originally put his hand in Stiles' back pocket without warning. Stiles told him off when they got to privacy, but I still decided it wasn't a cool thing for a romantic lead to do, so I changed it to the "We've gotta go level 2" that you see. 
> 
> As always, hope you enjoyed, and comments are always appreciated.


	6. Show You Off

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stiles and Jackson make their debut at school, to the surprise of the student population. The line between real and fake begins to blur for Jackson

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've finally finished my next chapter! And on a perfect day too. Today is my 30th birthday, and this chapter is my present to you all. I really hope you enjoy it. 
> 
> This chapter contains lyrics to the song "Yeah, Boy" by Kelsea Ballerini
> 
> Chapter song: Show You Off by Dan + Shay

The next morning, Stiles woke up to his cell phone alarm going off to the sounds of Right Said Fred’s I’m Too Sexy. He groggily reached over and flipped his phone over silencing it. He then climbed out of his warm cocoon of blankets and trudged to the closet to retrieve the Nordstrom bag containing his Jackson Whittemore mandated outfit for today.

After a shower, and round of doing his hair, Stiles put the clothes on, slipped on his Batman beanie, and walked out of the bedroom door. 

Downstairs, as Noah was getting ready for his day, Teenage Dream by Katy Perry played on the small radio in the kitchen. “Oh, dear god, dad. Really?” Stiles called out as he entered the kitchen and saw his dad cooking bacon and dancing to the cheesy top 40 hit. “Not even Katy Perry sings that song anymore.” 

“You’re just jealous that your old man has some sweet moves,” Noah said, as he playfully danced toward his son, holding out a pan of freshly cooked breakfast meat. 

“Please don’t talk about your moves again,” Stiles laughed, taking the plate. “Hey, this isn’t the turkey bacon I got you.”

“I know that,” Noah said, snapping a bit off of a piece he took off the plate. “Felt like the good shit today.” He sat down at the table across from where Stiles had sat down. “So, is this new look of yours courtesy of your new boyfriend?”

“It is,” Stiles said, taking a bite of the bacon.

“Why?”

“I have no clue, dad,” Stiles said. “Something about me not having a piece of clothing that doesn’t have a cartoon character or superhero on it. But you’ve gotta admit,  
I look good, don’t I?” He stood up and did a little model twirl. 

“Jackson does have a point on the cartoon characters, son,” Noah said, sardonically. “But otherwise that’s a good look for you.”

Just then, there was a knock at the kitchen door. Stiles looked out the window to see Jackson standing out there waiting for him. “Guess I should get going now,” he said, slipping his hat over his unruly hair and heading to the door. “Later, dad!” 

With that, Stiles was outside, face to face with a slightly disapproving Jackson. “What?” Stiles asked, shrugging his bag over his shoulder and walking down the driveway. “We taking your car or the Jeep?” He asked. He then turned around to see that Jackson wasn’t in fact behind him. “What’s going on?”

“The hat, Stiles,” Jackson said. 

“I always wear a hat,” Stiles relied. “And I’m not going to change EVERYTHING about myself for this.”

Jackson sighed. “Fine,” he said. “You can keep the hat. And to answer your question, of course we’re taking my car.” Stiles straightened his hat and turned toward the Porsche. “Can I drive?” Stiles asked, with that famous smirk of his. 

“You’re kidding right?” Jackson said. “Let’s reverse this. How would you feel if I ever asked to drive that ugly blue pile of rust and duct tape you call a Jeep?”

Stiles stopped in his tracks. “First of all,” he started. “After witnessing your driving skills yesterday, I’d trust you.”

“You would?” Jackson replied, skeptical. 

“Yeah,” Stiles responded. “Because I’m a nice guy. Now if you ever refer to my beautiful Roscoe as ugly again, I’ll tell the whole school about how you wet your sleeping bag that night we had a sleepover and watched The Ring.”

The two got to the car, and stood at their respective doors. “You wouldn’t,” Jackson asked, leaning against the car. 

“Is that something you want to test?” Stiles said, flashing that fucking smirk again. He then opened the door and got in. 

“You know, the rumor mill is already abuzz with the news of us,” Jackson said, as he dropped down to the passenger’s seat himself. 

“Really?”

“Yeah, Danny told me last night. Apparently our mall date was the shot heard round campus.” 

Stiles buckled his seatbelt and leaned against the window. “I seriously don’t know how to feel about this.”

Jackson pulled a pair of sunglasses from the visor above his head and slipped them on. “I tend to just enjoy it,” he said with a cocky grin. He fired up the Porsche and backed out of the driveway. 

As the sports car sped toward the school, Jackson fiddled with the radio until he caught a station that was to his liking. “Yeah, boy, your eyes could make the moon jealous…” a female voice sang from the speakers. 

“Hey, this is on one of the CDs you picked out for me!” Stiles said, immediately recognizing the tune. 

“Yeah,” Jackson said, pushing his sunglasses up on his nose. “I love this song.”

The two boys rode in silence for a minute, listening to the music. “I wish I could find a guy like the one in this song,” Stiles sighed. “You know, just once, be looked at like the way this singer describes.”

Jackson looked over at Stiles. “That’s what you have me for, Stiles.”

“I mean for real, Jax,” Stiles retorted. Surprisingly, this remark hurt Jackson more than he expected. Of course he never forgot this between them was only for show. He needed to remember that more. 

“You’ll find him, Stiles,” Jackson said with a genuine smile. “You’re really too great to not have someone like that.”

Jackson turned into the high school’s student parking lot and found his space near the front of the school. A space marked by a sign that says “Reserved for the Lacrosse captain.” 

“Can I park here when we take my Jeep?” Stiles asked, slyly. “Since, you know, you will be using the space, too.” 

“Yeah, sure, you can,” Jackson said, grabbing his bag out of the back, and opening his door. “The team will egg it, and your insurance won’t cover the new paint job, but go for it.” 

Stiles reached over and grabbed Jackson’s arm stopping him from getting out. “I just wanted to ask again,” Stiles said as Jackson resumed his place in his car seat. “Are you sure about this?”

“About us?” Jackson asked in return. “Well, I mean about half the school knows I’m bi. The other half suspects it due to some rumors about me and Danny that went around.”

Stiles straightened his hat on his head and opened the door. “Great. Let’s do this, he said, grabbing his bag and stepping out. Jackson did the same, and walked over to Stiles’ side. “What are our levels today?” Jackson whispered, taking Stiles’ hand in his own. 

“I think whatever necessary,” Stiles relied, using his free hand to tug on his hat again. Jackson noticed him doing this for the third time since picking him up. 

“Dude, what’s with the hat?”

“It’s a nervous habit,” Stiles said, dropping his hand back to his side. “I used to bite my nails, but Derek would scold me whenever my hand started to move up, so I just started playing with my hat. Or my hair if I wasn’t wearing a hat.” 

Jackson squeezed Stiles’ hand encouragingly. “Don’t be nervous. If anybody gives you any shit for being with me, I’ll take care of it.”

“Even if it’s your strawberry blonde piranha ex-girlfriend?” 

“I said I’ll take care of it.” The two of them approached the front entrance of the school. “Now, come on. Head up high. We’ve got this,” 

And so they entered the school, hand in hand. Heads did turn as they walked down the hall. Whispers abounded. “Is that Stilinski?” “Whittemore likes boys?” The one that amused Stiles the most was a girl whispering to her friend “Lydia is gonna shit!” 

“My locker’s right here,” Stiles said, stopping and turning to the wall of lockers. As soon as he got the locker opened, two other boys appeared by his side. Jackson immediately recognized these two as Stiles’ best friend Scott McCall, and Scott’s boyfriend Isaac Lahey. 

“Holy shit, it’s true,” Scott said, with a shocked expression. “You really are dating Jackass Whittemore.” 

“You see me right here, don’t you?” Jackson asked, slightly offended. 

“You’ll have to excuse him, Jackson,” Isaac said, sheepishly. “The filter in Scott’s brain shattered when he found out about you two.” He then looked at Stiles’ wardrobe. “And then it probably melted when he saw your outfit, Stiles. Holy shit.” 

Scott took notice of Stiles’ new look. “Dude, what happened? It looks like Banana Republic threw up on you!”

“It’s actually Nordstrom,” Stiles said. “Jackson helped me with an outfit.” 

“He actually looks better, I think,” Jackson putting his arm around Stiles’ shoulder. 

Scott threw his hands up. “I just—How the hell did this happen?” 

“I met him on a broken hearts app,” Stiles chimed in. 

“Yeah,” Jackson added. “When I realized I was talking to Stiles, I told him about it, and he asked me on a date. I said yes, and the rest is history.”

“Well, I think you make a cute couple,” Isaac said softly. 

“Thanks,” Stiles smiled. 

The bell rang signaling the start of the day. Stiles quickly grabbed his books, and turned to Jackson. “We don’t have any classes together,” he started. “See you at lunch?” 

“Of course, baby,” Jackson answered, the pet name coming easy to him. “See you then.” 

Jackson then turned and walked toward his class as Stiles walked to his in the opposite direction. 

Right as he got to his class, a voice stopped him from going in. 

“Hey, Stiles.” 

He turned around to see the last person he wanted to encounter while alone today. 

“Hello, Lydia.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yep. Another running into the ex cliffhanger. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. And don't forget to comment and leave a kudos!


	7. Bitch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The boys have a memorable first day of school with ex girlfriends, best friends, and other surprises.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, here it is. The resolution to Lydia's cliffhanger! This chapter also features some of the most fun stuff I've written. 
> 
> Chapter song: Bitch by Meredith Brooks

Stiles stood outside the door of his first period class, in front of his fake boyfriend’s ex girlfriend. Lydia Martin is about 5’4 of pure intimidation wrapped in Prada. 

“So, I see that Jackson’s influence has rubbed off on you,” she said, taking in the new outfit. 

But Stiles was having none of it. “Why did you stop me?” he asked, slightly annoyed. “I’m gonna be late for class.

“Oh, nothing right now,” she replied. “I just wanted to confirm the whispers that the great slacker Stiles Stilinski was styling as he came into the school on the arm of Jackson. Turns out they were right.” 

“Well, that was a nice waste of time,” Stiles began before turning to go into the classroom. “Now if you excuse me, I don’t want to be late for Econ.” 

“It’s never gonna work between you two.” With that, Stiles stopped and turned back. 

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, you’re just a distraction,” Lydia said, crossing her arms. “Jackson is like a lizard. He needs to sleep against something warm to survive. This week, that’s you. He’ll buy you a new outfit, show you a few good times, and have his fun. But next week, he’ll be on to the next one.

“Goodbye, Lydia,” Stiles said, going into the classroom, not even bothering to wait for her to say goodbye back. 

In the classroom, Stiles felt all eyes were on him as he walked to his desk. Taking his usual seat, he sighed as someone taped his shoulder. 

He looked over and saw Jackson’s best friend Danny sitting beside him, suddenly. “Why are you up here?” Stiles asked, getting the day’s notes ready. 

“I wanted to ask you about Jackson,” Danny said, smiling. 

“Are you gonna be a bitch to me too?”

“What do you mean?”

Stiles put his books under his desk and took a pen out of his bag. “I mean I was just accosted by Lydia outside.”

“What did she say?”

“Called me nothing but some fun he’s having, and that I should end it before I waste any more time.”

Danny smiled sympathetically. “Lydia is a bitch. I’ve been wanting to say that ever since my best friend made the ill informed decision to start dating her.”

Stiles laughed, and straightened his hat. “Is dating me an ‘ill informed decision?’” he asked nervously.

Danny shook his head. “I don’t really know you well, but I can tell you’re a good person, Stiles. You’ll be good for him. Just don’t hurt him.”

A twinge of sadness hit Stiles at Danny’s tone. “I wasn’t planning on it.”

“Good,” Danny said. “It’s just that he’s been hurt badly before, and I can’t see him like that again.”

Before Stiles could ask how bad Jackson had gotten, Coach Finnstock entered the room. “Alright, class. Do you have your homework from last night” he asked, setting up a projector for the day’s class. 

Danny went back to his desk near the back of the room, as Stiles turned to face the front of the classroom. He spent the whole hour wondering how bad someone had hurt Jackson. 

At lunchtime, Stiles automatically went to the table he normally shared with Scott and Isaac. As soon as he sat down, his phone buzzed in his pocket. He quickly took it out of his pocket and held it under the table to read the message away from the eyes of any wandering teachers who might confiscate the device from him. 

From: Jackass  
Time: 11:46  
Message: Come sit with us.

Stiles looked up and spotted Jackson sitting with Danny across the courtyard, Jackson giving a little wave. Stiles quickly typed out a message.

From: Stiles  
Time: 11:47  
Message: Do I have to?

He thought about sending it, but realized, of course he did. He had a bit of a charade to maintain. He gathered his lunch and stood up. 

“Where are you going?” Stiles turned around to find Scott, Isaac, and their other friend Liam standing behind him. 

“Uh,” Stiles said, trying to find what to say. “Jackson invited me to sit with him.” He pointed behind him to where Jackson was clearly waiting for Stiles to join him. “You know, boyfriends and all. I just forgot.” 

“Boyfriends?” Liam asked. “Did I miss something here?”

“Stiles hooked up with his neighbor,” Isaac said, as he moved past Stiles to sit down at the table. 

"Well, that explains the clothes," Liam said. "I thought Satan would be ice skating before I ever saw Stiles Stilinski in skinny jeans."

“Why don’t you guys come with me?” Stiles asked. “Even if they have someone else coming to sit with them, there’s still plenty of room for you guys.”

The three shrugged, and followed Stiles over to the table. “Hey, Jax, I hope it’s cool I brought my friends,” he said, sitting down beside Jackson. 

“That’s cool,” Danny chirped. “The more the merrier.” 

The four boys sat down at the long table; Stiles beside Jackson, with Scott, Isaac, and Liam on the opposite side.

The six boys ate lunch in relative silence, with the occasional pleasantry or jape about the quality of the cafeteria food. 

“One day, we’re all piling in my Jeep and taking our lunch at Sonic or something,” Stiles said with a laugh. 

“Like I’m ever getting in that deathtrap,” Danny snarked back, getting a laugh from the table. 

“Now come on, Danny,” Isaac said. “It’s not that bad.”

“Thanks, Isaac,” Stiles told his friend. 

“Well, once you get used to it, that is.”

Stiles’ jaw dropped. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Jackson decided to get into this one now. “He means I’ve watched you many days under that hood with a roll of duct tape and a giant wrench, yelling all kinds of swears trying to get that thing to run sometimes.” 

Stiles mock pouted as the others laughed at Jackson’s remark. “I can’t believe it. Betrayed by my own boyfriend. Thanks,” he laughed. 

The fun, however was short lived, however when a shadow passed over the table. They all looked up to find Lydia standing at the head of the table overlooking the group. 

“I had to see it for myself,” she said, getting command of the table. “Having fun slumming it?”

Jackson, who currently had his arms wrapped around Stiles’ shoulders, rolled his eyes. “Why are you here, Lydia?”

“You here to call me a rebound again? “ Stiles asked, looking up at the girl in slight contempt. 

“I just wanted to see Beacon Hills High’s new power couple in action for myself,” Lydia said, innocently. She then looked over to Scott, Isaac, and Liam. “Oh, look. You also took in strays.” 

Isaac started to breathe heavily, and grip Scott’s hand hard. Scott wrapped an arm around the boy’s shoulders and held him close. 

“Don’t call him a stray,” Scott said through gritted teeth, rubbing his boyfriend’s back soothingly. 

Jackson’s had enough. “Look, Lydia, why don’t you just leave,” he said, holding Stiles even closer. Stiles, in response, tapped his thumb against Jackson’s hand 3 times. A signal Jackson immediately recognized as Level 3. “I mean, you’ve obviously accomplished your goal of making at least one of us feel bad. Now, can we have the rest of our lunch period I peace?” 

“Oh, I was done anyway,” Lydia chirped in a tone that reminded Stiles of Delores Umbridge when she gleefully doled out the “I shall not tell lies” punishment to Harry Potter in Order of the Phoenix. “Just remember what I said earlier, Stiles. Enjoy it while it lasts.” 

And with that, she was gone. Stiles turned back to Jackson. “What the hell did you see in her anyway?” he asked, jokingly. 

“I’ve been wondering that myself,” Danny snorted. He then turned his attention to Scott and Isaac, who had calmed down a little. “You okay, dude?” 

Isaac simply nodded. “It was just a small episode,” Scott said. He then looked at Isaac, who was still curled up against Scott’s side. “You want me to call Mom, hon? She can take you home if you want.” Isaac shook his head and sat up. “I’ll be okay. It was just a small one,” Isaac said. “Thank god she’s gone now.” 

“So,” Scott said, bringing his attention to Jackson. “I don’t need to tell you that if you hurt Stiles, you have the three of us to deal with, do I?” Scott, Isaac, and Liam tried their best to put on intimidating faces, but it came off as more adorable than anything.

Danny started laughing. “What’s so funny?” Liam asked, still trying to be imposing 

“It’s nothing,” Danny said. “I gave Stiles the same speech earlier!”

“And dad also scared him,” Stiles giggled. “Don’t worry. We’re good.” 

The rest of the lunch period went by without incident, and Jackson could even say he liked Stiles’ friends. Even that quiet kid Liam. 

As the group stood up to file to the trash cans, Stiles looked at the clock on the wall. Below the wall, Lydia stood in a doorway, watching the boys intently. “Shit. I have to get to my locker before 6th.”

“That’s cool,” Jackson said. I can go with you.”

“No, you can’t,” Stiles said, Walking up to the trash can. “Your next class is on the other side of campus. You’ll never make it.” He dumped his trash in the can, and turned back to Jackson. “I’ll see you in 8th period, babe.” The then leaned up and pecked a small kiss on Jackson’s lips. He then moved to Jackson’s ear. 

“Did she see?” he whispered. 

Jackson looked around the courtyard and found Lydia standing in a doorway to the school. She rolled her eyes and walked back into the building. He only nodded in response. 

“Bye, guys,” Stiles said, as he walked away. Jackson continued to stand there, his brain still running after the kiss. It was a small, nothing of a kiss, but it still had his stomach doing tumbles. 

“Uh, is he okay?” Liam asked Danny, who was waving his hand in front of Jackson’s face. Jackson blinked himself back into reality a few times. “Uh, yeah,” he said. “I am.” The group then dumped their garbage and went inside.

At his locker, Stiles finished gathering his last three books of the day, and straightened his hat in the mirror. He was still a bit shocked that he kissed Jackson so easily. 

Closing the door, he was startled to find Lydia on the other side, arms crossed, like she’d been there for a minute. 

“Shit!” he shouted in surprise. “You’re like some happiness seeking missile. Out to destroy everything you see.”

“I’m not that bad,” Lydia said. 

“Oh, really?” Stiles asked. “Your stray comment almost sent one of my best friends into a panic attack. Just, why are you here?” 

“I know your relationship with Jackson is bullshit,” she simply said.

“No, it’s not,” Stiles said, holding his ground. 

"I saw that kiss. That's not how you kiss your boyfriend."

"We're in public," Stiles defended. "I'm not gonna stick my tongue down his throat in the middle of campus."

“There are also no apps for recent break ups,” Lydia said. “Except Grindr, and I know Jackson is too good for that shit. It seems right up your alley, though. No pun intended.”

“Listen, Lydia,” Stiles said, rearranging his books in his arms. “As much fun as it is to have you here, making me revisit my policy on hitting a girl, I’m running late for English.” He moved around Lydia and started walking. 

“Oh, one more thing?” he said, turning around, and catching the girl’s attention. “Anything to do with my relationship with Jackson is none of your business. Please remember that.” He then turned to walk to class, with the biggest, most satisfying smile on his face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No cliffhanger this time! <3 I hope you enjoyed this chapter. It had a bit more Lydia than originally planned, but she's just so un to write! Especially Stiles snarking to her. 
> 
> And what do you guys think about the gradual move to level 3? And Jackson's reaction? Not how you expected the first kiss to go, is it?


	8. Sparks Fly

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stiles meets Jackson's mom, who totally ships it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> At last, here's chapter 8! Big stuff happens in this one! 
> 
> Also, I can't believe how big this fic has gotten! Over 100 comments, 200 kudos, and 2100 hits?! I'm so glad you guys are loving this!
> 
> Chapter song: Sparks Fly by Taylor Swift

Thankfully, the rest of the day passed with no drama, save for a few out of the loop kids asking Stiles how he landed someone as hot as Jackson.

By 3:30, all Stiles wanted was to get home, and get into his comfortable pants for a This is Us catch up and homework. After his last class ended, he made his way to the student parking lot and found Jackson hadn’t gotten to his car yet. Stiles walked up to the sports car and leaned against the hood, while going through his phone.

 “Just because I’m fake tapping your ass doesn’t mean you can put it on my baby,” Jackson’s voice said, low in Stiles’ ear, making him almost drop his phone.

Stiles caught his phone and immediately straightened up. “Have we fake banged already?” he asked. “You must not have been too good if I don’t remember.”

Jackson looked up from inspecting the gunmetal gray paint job for any scratches or blemishes with a sarcastic smirk. “You’d remember me,” he quipped before unlocking the car.  Stiles walked around to the passenger’s side and dropped down into the car. Jackson quickly joined him in the driver’s seat.

Once both doors were closed, Stiles looked over at the other boy. “We should put a hold on all the fake talk in public,” he said. “When Lydia cornered me after lunch she said she knew something was up.”

“Don’t pay attention to her,” Jackson said, starting the car and pulling out of the parking space. “She was probably just being a bitch. Which means we’re getting under her skin, which means this is working.”

“That’s a good point,” Stiles countered, leaning back in his seat. “Are we still telling your mom today?”

Jackson pulled to a stop at a red light. “Uh, yeah, I think we are,” he said, looking ahead, waiting for the light to change. “You wanna hang out at my place until she gets home?”

“Yeah. My dad works tonight, so it’ll be perfect.”

Jackson turned into his driveway and stepped out of the car. Stiles gathered his bag and followed him. They got to the front door and Jackson took his key out of his pocket. “Don’t forget when you get inside to take your shoes off.” The two young men entered the house and closed the door behind them.

“MOM?!” Jackson called out, seeing if anyone was home. "You home yet?”

Upon receiving no answer, they both deduced that Mrs. Whittemore was in fact, not home, Stiles followed Jackson to the staircase. “You want to watch a movie or something while we wait?” Jackson asked, opening the door to his room. “Sure,” Stiles replied, following Jackson into the room.

Jackson had a quite typical bedroom for a teenage boy. Band and movie posters littered the walls above a queen size bed, which was situated across the room from a TV surrounded by a game system and video game cases, and a desk at the window.

The first thing Stiles noticed however was a lacrosse stick laying across the dresser with a furry orange ball in the net. Right as he reached out to touch the ball, it shifted, revealing  a small head with pointy ears. “You have a kitty?” Stiles cooed, reaching down to give the kitten’s head a light pet. “And you keep her in your lacrosse stick?”

Jackson lightly giggled as he turned the TV on. “Yeah, I do,” he said, flopping down on the bed. “His name’s Chewie. He likes to sleep there. Luckily, I don’t use that stick anymore.”

Stiles gasped. “You named your cat after Chewbacca?!” he asked, jaw dropped. “Okay, that’s it. I may be falling in love with you for real.”

Jackson blushed at that. He wanted to say “I wouldn’t be opposed to that,” but couldn’t figure out how to word it, so he settled for “You gonna sit down or not?”

Stiles snapped out of petting Chewie and moved toward the bed. “I can’t believe it,” he said, getting comfortable.

“Can’t believe what?”

“I’ve only been dating you for two days, and you’ve already gotten me into your bed.”

Jackson shoved the remote over to Stiles. “Just pick something.” Stiles took the remote and started flipping through the choices the streaming service Jackson had offered, until he came across a cheesy action movie. “This cool?” he asked. Jackson answered only with a nod.

The two boys sat on the bed watching Jason Statham send bad guys to their violent and well deserved deaths, interrupting the movie for mindless chitchat and playing with Chewie when he joined them on the bed. It really warmed Stiles’ heart watching Jackson play with the kitten.

“Hello, Jackson?!” A female voice called from downstairs. Jackson jumped up. “You ready?” he asked, hitting the power button on the TV remote.  Stiles put Chewie down on the pillow beside him and stood up and met Jackson at the door.

“How do we do this?”  Stiles asked, a bit nervous.

“Are you afraid?” Jackson asked. “It’s okay, Stiles. My mom is nowhere near as scary as your dad. You’re gonna  be fine.” He then took Stiles’ hand. Stiles looked from their joined hands to Jackson’s reassuring gaze and smiled. “Let’s go do this,” he said.

And with that, the two boys exited the room. As soon  as the door behind them closed, Chewie hopped from  the bed to the dresser and curled back up in his lacrosse stick.

Downstairs, Jackson’s mom Constance Whittemore, was in the kitchen unpacking groceries, unaware that her son had entered the room. “Hey, mom,” Jackson said just loud enough to get her attention. Constance turned to see Jackson and  Stiles standing in front of her, holding hands.

“Jackson, honey, do you have something you wanna tell me?” she asked, folding one of the canvas bags on the counter and sticking it on top of the refrigerator.

Jackson  grinned ear to ear. “I actually do, mom,” he said. “You remember Stiles, right?”

“Of course I do,” Constance said, knowing just what was going on. “We’ve lived next to him all of your life. Are you two dating?”

All the tension that Stiles was feeling at this meeting was alleviated at this. Jackson held his head high and smiled. “We are,” he said, proudly.

“How did this happen?” Jackson’s mom asked, completely disregarding the frozen products in the bag on the counter, walking up and wrapping both boys in a big hug. After letting them go, Constance turned to Stiles. “You’re staying for dinner tonight,” she said, briskly.

“There’s no point in resisting her,” Jackson said. “That’s her ‘I get what I want’ voice.”

“You’re damn right it is,” Constance said, turning back to her groceries. “Have you fed your cat yet, Jackson?” she asked.

“Was just in the room with him before you got home,” Jackson replied. “Both his food and water bowls are full.”

“And the litterbox?”

Jackson stalled for a second trying to remember if he actually cleaned it. “Uh, I’ll go check,” He said, taking Stiles’ hand and started to lead him out of the room. “Uh,” Constance said, stopping them. “Could you hold back a minute, Stiles?” she asked.

And suddenly, his tension was back. Jackson patted his back. “You’re gonna be okay,” he said. “If you can survive being alone with Lydia, you’ll be fine.” He then turned to go check on the litterbox.

“Do you need any help with anything, Mrs. Whittemore?” Stiles asked, nervously wringing his hands.

“Yeah,” she replied, handing him a bag.  “You can put those cans up in the pantry. And there’s no need to be nervous. I’m not gonna do the intimidating parent thing.”

Stiles took the bag and moved to the pantry door that Constance pointed at, and started stacking cans. “You’re not? Then why did you make me stay behind?”

“I just wanted to psych Jackson out a bit,” She put her last bag on top of the fridge, and took the empty one out of Stiles’ hand. “Make him think I’m threatening your safety if you hurt him. Which I know you won’t. You’re too nice of a person to do that shit to someone.”

“I recently had it done to myself,” Stiles said softly. “It wasn’t fun.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Constance guided Stiles to a stool at the kitchen counter. They both sat down.

“Oh, it’s okay,” Stiles told her. “I found someone even better.”

“I’m glad you two are getting along again.”

Stiles smiled at this. “I am too,” he said.

Jackson came back in the kitchen with a plastic bag filled with litter clumps in one hand, and pinning his nose shut with the other. “How can something so little make this?” he asked, as he went out the back door.

“He says that every time,” Constance joked. “It’s like he’s surprised that kittens poop.”

“Oh, my god,” Stiles laughed. “That has to be one of the funniest things I’ve ever heard!”

Jackson returned to the kitchen and sat down at the table. “What’s so funny?” he asked when the laugher died down. “Oh, nothing,” Stiles replied. “Just mocking your aversion to cat poop.”

To call Jackson’s reaction a bitchface would be an understatement. “I’m breaking up with you,” he deadpanned.

“Only if I get to keep Chewie,”

“I like this one,” Constance laughed. “Please keep him around a while.”

The rest of the evening passed by too quickly for Stiles’ taste. He loved the relationship Jackson had with his mom, especially after his father walked out on them years ago. They reminded him of Scott and his mother Melissa in a way.

When it was time for Stiles to go home Jackson offered to walk him home. “Come back anytime,” Constance called out as the two boys started out the door. “Will do, Mrs. Whittemore!” Stiles replied before they headed outside.

Upon leaving the house they discovered it was lightly raining. Shit,” Stiles said under his breath. “Good thing your windows are up,” he said to Jackson.

“Come on. Let’s get to your house,” Jackson said taking Stiles’ hand and stepping off the porch. Once they had reached the hedge separating the two houses, Jackson stopped and faced Stiles.

“I have practice tomorrow, so we should probably take our own cars to school.”

“Did I overstep anything today?” Stiles asked, looking right into Jackson’s eyes.

“What do you mean overstep?”

“The kiss at lunchtime,” Stiles explained. “Did I go too far?”

“You signaled you wanted to go level 3,” Jackson replied. “And it worked. You told me yourself Lydia was rattled.”

“She was,” Stiles said through a breathy laugh. “Thanks.” He turned to walk to his house when Jackson stopped him.

“Would I be out of line to say I liked it?”

Stiles stood there, blinking in surprise. “You—You did?”

“Yeah,” Jackson said, sticking his hands in his pockets. “I mean, it was just a nothing of a peck, but you’re good at it. Especially your really soft lips. How does that happen?”

“That’s thanks to my love of Chapstick,” he said. “If you ever want to do that again, just let me know.”

Jackson stepped toward Stiles. “Is now okay?” He asked.

Stiles thought for a second before wrapping his arms around Jackson’s neck, and pulling him close. “Yeah, it is,” he whispered before pressing his lips to Jackson’s. This kiss was different from the one earlier. This one feels more real. Jackson sighed into Stiles’ kiss, and started to return it himself. Stiles smiled, slightly parting his lips and pulling back from Jackson.

“Shit,” he breathed. “You’re good at that, too.”

Jackson grinned. “So I’ve heard.”

“Goodnight, Jackson,” Stiles said, turning and going back to his house.

“Goodnight, Stiles.” Jackson went back to his own house. Upon entering the front door, he saw Constance standing by the living room, smiling from ear to ear.

“Not one word, mom,” Jackson said, holding up a finger as he went upstairs, and settled into his room. As soon as he  laid down on the bed, Chewie climbed out of his lacrosse stick and hopped to the bed, where he climbed up on Jackson's chest. Jackson then curled up and drifted off to the best night of sleep he’s gotten in weeks, dreaming about how Stiles’ lips felt against his.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Told you guys big things happen in this one! And believe me those boys kept rushing it. They wanted that kiss as far back as the chapter where Jackson met the Sheriff. 
> 
> Also, how adorable is Jackson's kitten? 
> 
> I hope it's to ya'll's liking! Let me know in the comments!


	9. Run to You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After an accident, Jackson makes a confession to Stiles.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this one turned out to be long again. And that's because something really big happens. I'm still amazed it came out to over 3000 words! 
> 
> Trigger warning: This chapter contains a brief reference to past child abuse and non graphic character injury. 
> 
> This chapter contains lyrics to Downtown by Lady Antebellum.  
> Chapter song: Run to You by Whitney Houston

 Two weeks later, Jackson was sitting on the floor of his bedroom, playing a video game with Scott while Stiles and Isaac were out getting food. Jackson easily won this round.

“Told you, McCall,” Jackson gloated. “Nobody beats me.”

“You totally got me,” Scott laughed, putting his controller down in exchange from a drink from his soda glass. “That was fun.”

“It was,” Jackson replied, setting his own controller down. “My eyes are gonna cross if I play any more, though.”

“Sounds good to me,” Scott said, shutting down the game. Jackson then pulled his phone out of his pocket and started scrolling. “You mind if I put on some music?” he asked.

“Go right ahead,” Scott answered.

As Jackson tapped the screen, an upbeat tune came out of the small speaker. “Well, all the parties on the streets are talking, storefront mannequins sleeping in lights…” a female voice sang loudly before Jackson adjusted the volume to where the song was more in the background of their conversation.

“How are things going with you and Stiles?” Scott asked, turning toward Jackson.

“They’re great,” Jackson smiled. “We’re having a lot of fun.”

“You two look really happy,” Scott said back. “Like, I know Stiles was nowhere near this happy with Derek.”

“What did he see in Derek anyway?”

“I honestly don’t know,” Scott chuckled. “You’ll have to ask Stiles that.”

“I don’t know why you don’t take me downtown, like you’ve got anywhere better to be,” the radio sang. “Talk it up and give me the go round, round like a good time tease…”

“Is she singing about wanting a guy to go down on her?” Scott asked, laughing.

Jackson laughed at this. “Yeah, she is,” he said. “It’s amazing what you can get away with when you have a fun upbeat tune isn’t it?”

As the song playing on the phone changed to another tune, Chewie woke up and hopped out of his lacrosse stick, and crawled over to where Scott was sitting. Scott picked him up and petted the back of the kitty’s head.

“Where did you get him?” Scott asked, paying more attention to the cat than Jackson.

“A few months ago, his mother snuck into our toolshed, and gave birth,” Jackson told him. “I was out there every day taking care of them. I told the cat’s owner about the situation, and as a thank you for taking care of them, she let me have one of the kittens.”

“That’s really sweet,” Scott remarked, smiling. “He’s really cute.”

“Thank you,” Jackson said scooting over to Scott. Chewie, sensing his daddy near, hopped from Scott’s arms into Jackson’s lap. “I really love this little guy.”

The two boys were interrupted from their playing by the buzzing of Scott’s phone. “It’s Isaac,” Scott said, looking at the screen. He then swiped across to answer the call. “Hey, baby. When are you getting back?”

His face then dropped. “What?” he asked, taking on a worried tone.

“What is it?” Jackson asked, setting Chewie down.

“Holy shit,” Scott, said, standing up. “Yeah, we’re on our way,” he moved the phone down to his chest. “We have to go to the hospital now,” he said, urgently. “Yeah, baby we’ll be there soon.”

Jackson jumped up and snatched his hoodie off of his bed. “What happened?” he asked as Scott hung up the phone and put it in his pocket. “Stiles and Isaac were in an accident,” Scott said, heading out the door. “He didn’t give me any details. Just said to get down there now.”

Jackson reached into his pocket and pulled out his keys. “We’ll take my car,” He said, before walking down the stairs and out the door with his new friend.

 Before either of them knew it, Jackson pulled his car into the parking lot of the Beacon Hills Emergency Room. Scott ran ahead of Jackson to the desk.

“How can I help you?” the receptionist asked, when Scott got there.

“Can you tell me where a patient is?”

“Which one?”

“Isaac Lahey,” Scott said, “He was in a car accident.”

“Oh, yeah, he’s right here,” the receptionist said, as Jackson joined Scott at the desk. “He was admitted with a Mee—Miii—“

“Yeah, that’s my friend Stiles,” Scott told her. “Where are they?”

“3rd tented room in the back—“ The receptionist started before Scott and Jackson ran in the back. They were met by Scott’s mom Melissa standing by one of the curtains.

“Where are they, mom?” Scott asked frantically, with Jackson, skidding to a stop behind him.

“He’s okay, honey,” Melissa said, soothingly. “They both are. The worst is a couple broken bones. Other than that it’s bumps and bruises.”

“But Isaac sounded so—“ Scott said, tears of relief rolling down his face.

“He was scared, sweetie,” Melissa told her son as she hugged him. “They both were but they’re okay.”

“Can we go see them, Mrs. McCall?” Jackson asked, trying to hide the shaking in his voice.

“They’re both back there,” Melissa pointed to her left. “And they’re both going to be so happy to see you.”

“Thanks, mom,” Scott said, before leading Jackson to the curtained off room Melissa pointed them toward.

As soon as Scott pulled back the curtain, the two boys were met with a sight that made them want to cry. Stiles was lying on a bed with a bandage on his forehead, and his left arm in a sling, while Isaac was sitting in a chair while a doctor wrapped a cast around his right leg. Isaac reached behind him to shake Stiles’ leg. “Our boyfriends are here,” he said softly, getting Stiles’ attention.

Both boys rushed in the small room, Scott going for Isaac, and Jackson going to Stiles. “What happened?” Scott asked Isaac as he placed a small kiss on Isaac’s temple.

“We were coming back from Pizza Hut when this asshole ran a red light,” Stiles groaned, leaning in to Jackson’s hug. “He hit Isaac’s side of the Jeep, and sent my side banging into a power pole.”

Jackson hugged Stiles harder. “I’m glad you both are okay,” he whispered.

“I may need a ride to school for a while,” Stiles lightly joked.

“Whatever you want, baby,” Jackson smiled, kissing the top of Stiles’ head.

The doctor finished up with Isaac’s cast. “I don’t see why you can’t go on home, Isaac,” he said, patting the final strip of plaster on Isaac’s leg, and handing the boy a pair of crutches.

Scott helped Isaac up and helped him balance on the crutches. “You need help?” he asked. Isaac shrugged and started hobbling around on them. “Not my first time with one working leg, Scotty,” Isaac said as he expertly maneuvered around the room. A pang of sadness hit Scott, as he just said “Oh yeah. Sorry.”

“You need help, Stiles?” Jackson asked. Stiles waved him off and slid out of the bed. As soon as he stood up, he had to sit back down again. Grabbing his head, he groaned. “I don’t think I can move,” he said, still woozy. Melissa rushed into the room, and started checking him over. “Yeah, he’s not going anywhere tonight,” she told the other boys. “Think you can get Scott and Isaac back to the house?” she asked Jackson.

“Yeah, sure,” Jackson replied. “I’ll have to trade cars with my mom so Isaac can ride, but yeah.” He sat down on the bed next to Stiles and put an arm around the injured boy’s shoulder as Melissa prepared a syringe. “It’s just a small sedative,” she told Jackson when he looked at her worried. She injected it in his arm and turned back to Scott and Isaac to check on them

“Hey, Stiles,” He said softly. Stiles turned his head slowly to look at Jackson. “I’m gonna take Scott and Isaac home. Your dad’s on the way, and when I get done, I’ll come right back, okay?”

Stiles nodded. “I’ll probably be asleep, but come on,” he groaned. “I’ll be more than happy to see you.” He leaned up and placed a small kiss on Jackson’s lips. “Bye, Jacky,” he said with a goofy smile on his face. “Bye, Stiles. I’ll hurry back.”

As Jackson got up, Stiles laid back down on the bed and curled his knees up to his chest. “Don’t worry about him,” Melissa told Jackson. “I’m calling his father when you leave. He won’t be alone for a second,” she assured, before shooing them of.

Outside, Jackson, Scott, and Isaac sat on a bench waiting for Jackson’s mom to show up with her car. “Are you doing well, Isaac?” Jackson asked, looking over at Isaac shifting on the bench.

“Yeah,” Isaac replied, finally finding a comfortable position “At least it doesn’t hurt as much as it did last time.”

“What happened last time?” Jackson asked. Scott protectively wrapped an arm around his boyfriend’s shoulders.

“My dad did it,” Isaac said in a low voice. “He wasn’t… He wasn’t the best dad.”

“But he’s gone now,” Scott added. “Locked away and never coming back.”

“I’m sorry,” was all Jackson could say.

“Thank you,” Jackson replied. Just then, Constance Whittemore’s Escalade pulled up in front of the three boys.

“Damn, Mrs. Whittemore,” Scott said, impressed as Constnace climbed out and walked up to the group, holding the keys out to Jackson. “Nice ride.”

“Thanks,” Constance replied. “You can send your regards to my cheating bastard ex-husband who was too stupid to sign a prenup.”

Jackson pulled his keys out of his pocket and handed them to Constance. “The Porsche was also my husband’s,” Constance said. “Part of his midlife crisis. When I got it in the settlement, I gave it to Jackson just to piss him off.”

“Thanks, mom,” Jackson said, helping Isaac up. “I’ll get the car back to you later.”

“Take your time honey,” she said sweetly. “And you get well, too,” she told Isaac.

“Thanks, ma’am,” Isaac told her, getting his balance on the crutches. “Shotgun!”

Jackson opened the passenger’s side door open, and Isaac easily maneuvered into the seat. Scott took his crutches and climbed into the backseat with them.

“You boys be careful,” Constance told Jackson, hugging him. She then released him, and walked toward where Jackson parked his car.

Jackson then climbed into the driver’s seat and drove off. After the quick drive to Scott and Isaac’s house, Jackson helped Isaac out. “Do you guys need help?” he asked, as Scott got out and also helped his boyfriend.

“No, I think we’ve got it,” Isaac replied. “You go get back to Stiles. Text us when you learn something.”

“I will. And you get better soon, Isaac.”

“Talk later, Jackson,” Scott said, as he helped Isaac up the steps to his porch. Jackson then got into the car and drove away.

A couple hours later, Jackson walked down the hall of Beacon Hills Memorial Hospital, a Star Wars gift bag in one hand, complete with a Get Well Soon balloon tied around the handle, and the other hand gripping his hoodie closed. A small lump was squirming across Jackson’s chest.

He turned a corner down the hallway that the receptionist sent him toward, and came face to face with Melissa and Noah.

“Hey, Jackson,” Melissa greeted the boy, eyes on his jacket.

“What’s going on there?” Noah asked.

“What do you mean?” Jackson asked back, innocently.

“Well, son,” Melissa began, “Either you’re hiding an uninvited guest, or you’re about to give birth to an Alien.”

“Don’t kill me?” he asked innocently as  he unzipped the top of his jacket. Chewie’s small head popped out of the new opening.

“You brought a cat to the hospital?” Noah asked, a slight laugh escaping his throat, while Melissa gave him a disapproving look.

“When I feel bad, cuddling this little guy always makes me feel better faster,” Jackson suggested. “Maybe he could work his same magic on Stiles?”

Melissa shook her head. “I’m sorry, Jackson,” she said, trying to sound stern, but actually sounding sorry. “I can’t allow it.”

“I’ll take him outside while you visit Stiles,” Noah told Jackson, who lifted Chewie out of the jacket and handed him over to the Sheriff.

“It was a nice gesture though,” Melissa sweetly told the teen. “He’s a cute kitty.”

“Thanks,” Jackson smiled. “How’s Stiles doing?”

“He’s better,” Noah told him. “He’s awake now, if you want to go on in. I’ll take this little guy outside, where you can claim him on your way back to the car.” He then left down the hall.

“There aren’t any more wild animals in that bag, are there?” Melissa asked, before letting Jackson into Stiles’ room.

“Do gummi bears count?”

“Just get in there,” She laughed. “I thought Stiles was the smartass.” She stepped aside and let Jackson by.

Jackson stepped into the hospital room, and frowned slightly at the sight before him. Stiles, in a hospital gown, sitting upright in a too big bed, with an IV tube leading out of his good arm, and electrode pads on either side of his forehead.

“Hey, Stiles,” Jackson said, softly. “You feeling any better?’

“Now that I can think clearly, yeah,” Stiles said, welcoming Jackson into the room. Jackson sat down in a chair beside the bed, and lifted up the bag.

“Good,” he said, handing the bag over.  “I got you a few things to help speed up the recovery.”

“I like the balloon,” Stiles laughed, untying the string around the bag handles. Jackson took the balloon and tied it to one of the bed rails. “You really didn’t have to do this though, Jackson.”

“Just check it all out.”

Stiles opened the bag and gasped in surprise at what he found. “What’s this?” he asked, pulling out a small gray T-shirt. He unfolded it to reveal a picture of Pam Poovey from Archer on the front riding a dolphin with the word “Sploosh” printed underneath the photo. “You bought me a cartoon T-shirt?” Stiles said, surprised, with tears forming in his eyes.

“I’ve kinda given up on you going the more fashionable route,” Jackson laughed. “Besides, it’s more you. I know she’s your favorite on that show.”

Stiles held the shirt up to his chest. “I can’t wait to wear it out of here,” He said, still smiling.

“That’s not all that’s in there, dude,” Jackson told him. “Keep digging!”

Stiles did as he was instructed and found bags of gummi bears and chocolate, along with a Now That’s What I Call the 90s CD, and another T-shirt, this one with the “Get your shit together” speech from Rick and Morty printed on it.

“Jackson, thank you. I love it all!”

“There was one more thing but Ms. McCall wouldn’t let me bring it in,” Jackson admitted.

“What’s that?”

“He’s about 6 inches tall, orange, sleeps in a Lacrosse stick, and once tried to sneak out of my house in the hood of your jacket.”

“You actually brought a cat to the hospital?” Stiles asked, amazed.

“I actually thought it would work,” Jackson said low. “Your dad is taking care of him outside. When you get out of here, you can play with him as long as you want.”

“Thanks anyway,” Stiles laughed. As he put the stuff back into the bag, he noticed a card in the bottom. “What’s this?” he asked, reaching for the card.

“It’s something I actually want to tell you myself,” Jackson explained. “I thought you’d still be asleep when I got here, but since you’re not, I can actually say it.”

Stiles slid the card back into the bag and turned his attention back to Jackson. “What’s up?” he asked.

“I’m nervous here, so bear with me,” Jackson said, taking a breath.

“Take your time,” Stiles assured.

“When we started this thing, I just wanted to psych out Lydia, and wanted you to get your digs in at Derek,” Jackson started. “But I had a reason I asked you to do this fake boyfriend thing.”

“What was that?” Stiles asked.

“I like you, Stiles,” Jackson admitted with a hitch in his breath.

“I like you too, Jackson,” Stiles said, softly.

“I mean, I really like you, Stiles,” Jackson clarified. “I’ve had feelings for you since I can remember.” Stiles started to speak up, but Jackson stopped him. “Just let me finish, please?”

“Okay,” Stiles said softly.

“When we were kids, I really fucked up our friendship,” Jackson began. “For that, I’m really sorry. Your mom had just died, and I was too busy with my new junior lacrosse team friends to help you through it. I still remember what you told me the day you stopped talking to me.”

A tear rolled down Stiles’ cheek at this memory. “I told you to leave me alone for as long as we’re both fucking alive,” there was a sad tinge in Stiles’ voice at this. “I hate myself for just pushing you away. I was hurt, and only wanted to hurt you as bad.”

“It did hurt,” Jackson said. “A lot. And that pain returned when I watched you go off with Derek, and saw how he mistreated you. I knew you deserved someone better than that, and I wanted to be that person. That’s why I asked you to do this whole fake thing. I was going to straight up ask you out, but chickened out when you came outside.”

Stiles sat in his bed, silent. A silence that was only interrupted by the beeping of the heart monitor beside the bed.

“Why did you tell me today?” Stiles asked, finally breaking the silence.

“After hearing that you were hurt, I realized life is too short for bullshit,” Jackson replied. “After seeing you were okay, I knew I had to take this chance.”

“I’m sorry it took me and Isaac getting hurt for you to realize this.”

“Do you hate me?” Jackson asked, timidly, afraid of the answer.

“I don’t,” Stiles replied. “Cause I have feelings for you, too, Jackson. From the first time we kissed, I knew I wasn’t pretending anymore.”

“So, what do we do now?” Jackson asked

“I don’t know,” was all Stiles could say. “I know this relationship has been one of the easiest ones I’ve ever been in. And it’s all for pretend.”

“Why don’t we drop the pretend part?” Jackson suggested. “Be a couple for real.’

Stiles smiled. “I actually like that.”

Just then, Melissa walked into the room. “Jackson, I’m sorry, but Stiles needs his rest,” she said. “He’ll be going home tomorrow.”

“Okay, Ms. McCall,” Jackson said. “Can I say goodbye to my boyfriend?”

“Sure,” Melissa said with a smile. “Just make it quick.” She then turned and left the room. Jackson stood up and leaned over the bed.

“Goodbye, my boyfriend for real,” He said softly, before kissing Stiles. A kiss even deeper and more loving than any other one he’s had with Stiles has been. Stiles raised his good hand and ran his fingers through the back of Jackson’s hair.

The two separated, and smiled at each other. “Goodbye, boyfriend for real,” Stiles repeated. “I’ll see you tomorrow.

Jackson walked to the door. “Text me when you get discharged,” he said. “I’ll drive you home.”

“I will,” Stiles replied, before Jackson left the room.

“Don’t forget to get your cat back,” Melissa called after Jackson as he walked by. To be honest, if she hadn’t reminded him, he would’ve forgotten in the haze of all of the happy thoughts going through his mind.

Outside the hospital, he saw Noah playing with Chewie on a bench. “This is a rambunctious little guy, isn’t he?” Noah called out as Jackson approached them. Jackson then bent down and scooped the kitty up in his hands. “Thanks for taking care of him while I was up there,” he said, holding him close.

“It was no problem,” Noah told him. “I needed the fresh air anyway. “I’d better get up there and see how he’s doing.”

“Goodbye, Mr. Stilinski,” Jackson said, before going to his car. After putting Chewie into his pet carrier, Jackson drove home, amazed at how many emotions he’d gone through today. Most of all, though, he was happy, and openly, honestly in love.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this was NOT how it was originally supposed to happen but the story demanded it. And when I told my beta reader about the idea to have the accident, she encouraged it, saying it would shake things up. I really hope that's the case. 
> 
> I promise the next chapter will be 100% happy! 
> 
> As always, kudos and comments are appreciated.


	10. My Baby Loves Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gang makes plans to attend the big winter dance; Jackson confronts Derek, who has some confessions of his own; Liam makes a new friend, and Stiles and Jackson take a big step in their relationship.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some notes about this chapter. This one took a LONG time to get done because it was a big one. I second guessed scenes, even wrote one out fully, and took it out for later on in the story. But everything that does happen in it was always supposed to happen at this point. 
> 
> This chapter contains some mild sexual content. 
> 
> Chapter song: My Baby Loves Me by Martina McBride  
> This chapter contains lyrics from The Rest of Our Lives by Tim McGraw and Faith Hill, and Heartbeat by Carrie Underwood.

“Jackson, I can carry my own books,” Stiles whined as he walked down the school hallway, with his bag slung over his shoulder, and his left arm bouncing in its sling. “This whole nursing me back to health thing was sweet and a little hot at first, but now it’s just getting old.”

“You only have one free arm, baby,” Jackson said still keeping pace with his boyfriend. “And these books weigh 50 pounds a piece. Face it. You need help.”

Stiles wasn’t exaggerating. The second he got out of the hospital, Jackson was there acting as his own personal nurse. Bringing him food, water, staying over for the night 3 of the past 5 days. Stiles loved having a boyfriend again, he did, but when Jackson got worried, he turned his affection up to 11. 

“Look over there,” Jackson said, pointing to Scott and Isaac, who were standing at Isaac’s locker while Scott got books out. “Scott’s allowed to help out his boyfriend?”

“Scott’s boyfriend is on crutches,” Stiles retorted. “He doesn’t have a free hand to carry his stuff.” He then stopped and turned to Jackson. “It’s seriously just a broken arm. And the cast comes off next month. Plus, the concussion risk from me bumping my head on the steering wheel has passed.” 

“Which is another month of me carrying your books for you,” Jackson explained. “Sorry, babe, you’re not talking your way out of this one.” Stiles rolled his eyes. “Can I at least have them from now until lunch?” he asked. “Cause I need that one for first period.” 

Jackson conceded and handed over the books. Stiles perfectly balanced them behind his cast, and then took Jackson’s hand. “See? I can carry the books, too.”  
The two then continued on down the halls, eventually meeting up with Scott and Isaac, as well as Danny and Liam. “Attention students,” A chipper voice called out over the PA. “Malia Tate here with your reminder that Winter Formal is next month, and tickets are selling fast!” 

Isaac leaned against a wall, and smiled at Scott. “Are we going to the dance?” he asked, loosening his grip on his crutches. “It’s the day I’m due to get my cast off.” 

“Mine comes off then too,” Stiles said to Jackson. “We can double and celebrate!” 

Scott and Jackson looked at each other, silently contemplating their boyfriends’ offers. “What do you say, Scott?” he asked. 

“I say hell yeah!” Scott replied enthusiastically. 

“I can get my mom’s van, and we can all go together?” Liam joined in. “Just make one big party of it?”

“I like the sound of that,” Danny added. 

Before any of them could say more, the bell rang. “See you at lunch, Jax,” Stiles smiled as he kissed his boyfriend and headed off in the direction of his class. 

The other guys said their goodbyes and headed off themselves. As Liam walked down the hall to his English Lit class, he was blindsided by a slightly taller boy whose nose was buried in a map. Both went down upon collision. 

“Shit,” the boy said, as he tried to collect himself. “Are you okay?” he asked Liam, standing up and offering a hand.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Liam relied, taking the hand and standing up. “I’m sorry about that.” He looked at the pile of papers in the boy’s hand. “Are you new here?” Liam asked upon seeing an orientation booklet in the mix.”

“Yeah,” the guy said. “I’m Theo Raeken.”

“Liam Dunbar. What class do you have first?”

Theo looked over the paper carefully. “English Lit,” he said. “Room E211?”

“That’s my first class, too,” Liam chirped. “Just follow me.” The two boys walked off in the direction of the classroom. 

Later Jackson sat in his first period Chemistry listening to the teacher explain today’s experiment. 

“And now everybody pair up with your partners,” the teacher, Mr. Harris, finished his instructions. As everybody paired off, Jackson found out his normal partner Matt wasn’t in school today. He raised his hand. “Mr. Harris? My partner isn’t here,” he called out. 

“That’s fine Mr. Whittemore,” Mr. Harris said. “Mr. Hale’s partner didn’t show up either. You can work with him.” 

Jackson looked across the room, where Derek sat by himself at a lab station. He thought about fighting it, but this lab was 10% of his final grade. He can suck it up for one hour. 

Jackson approached Derek’s lab station apprehensively. “Hey, Derek,” he said softly. “I guess we have to work together.” Derek silently slid over and made room for Jackson.

“Now, you have the proper mix of chemicals in front of you,” Harris told the class. “And when you mix them I’m sure you’ll find something pretty cool happens.”

Jackson silently started sorting out the experiment while Derek looked on. “Are you gonna help?” Jackson asked, giving Derek a side glance. “That is kinda the whole ‘partner’ part of ‘lab partner.’” 

“I see dating Stiles for a month has rubbed off on you,” Derek quipped as he handed Jackson a bottle of a chemical. 

“You don’t get to talk about him” Jackson said, matter-of-factly, as he poured one of the bottles into the beaker in front of them. 

Derek took his own bottle and slowly poured it in. “Why not?” He asked. “I’ve seen nothing but you two all over each other all over the school.”

“Maybe you should learn to look other places?” Jackson snarked, getting the next bottle ready. ‘Huh. Maybe he is rubbing off on me.”

“How’s he doing?” Derek asked. “I wanted to ask him if he was okay. You know after the accident and everything. I was afraid you wouldn’t want me speaking to him.”

“I don’t own him,” Jackson told Derek. “Stiles is his own person, and free to talk to anyone he wants. I just don’t think he’d want to talk to you.”

“I know I wasn’t the best boyfriend,” Derek admitted. 

“You got that right,” Jackson muttered, doing his next part of the experiment. “You know from one of my bedroom windows, I can see perfectly into Stiles’ driveway?” 

“What does that have to do with anything?” Derek asked. 

“It means I saw you pick Stiles up for dates many times, and too many of those times, he looked like he was being lead on a death march.” 

“Yeah,” Derek remembered. “Those were probably the activism events. It’s funny. He believed in the causes we were gathering for like stopping animal testing. But getting him to the meetings was like pulling teeth.”

“You know why, don’t you?” Jackson stopped what he was doing and turned to Derek. “Did Stiles ever tell you about his mother?”

“I know she died when he was younger.”

Jackson went back to his work. “He was 8. And his dad was working late that night. His mom had been sick for a long time, and Stiles was in the room with her when she passed. Alone. He’s been weary of anything having to do with hospitals or the medical field ever since. So, taking him to see pictures dissected animals wasn’t the best idea.”

“I…” Derek started. “I had no idea. He must really hate me.” 

“The thing about Stiles though is that he’s incredibly forgiving.”

“He is?”

“Yeah,” Jackson affirmed. “Just talk to him later. Apologize. I promise it’ll work out.”

Derek smiled. “Okay, I will. And I’m sorry for being an ass to you before.”

“That’s cool,” Jackson said, grabbing the last bottle of chemical. “You ready to see what happens?”

He tipped the bottle over the beaker and poured. The reaction was an instant explosion, covering the desk with foam. “Holy crap!” Jackson exclaimed as the reaction only grew. Derek then started laughing. “What is it?” Jackson asked. 

“Your hair!” Derek said through a laugh. Jackson reached up and sure enough, there was the foamy mixture of hydrogen peroxide and dish soap resting on his hair. 

“Mr. Whittemore, you should probably go rinse that out, before you have a big blonde splotch in your hair,” Mr. Harris told Jackson, noticing the mess. 

“Crap,” Jackson said, as he dunked his head into the lab station sink and turned the water on.

Later, at lunch, Jackson was sitting at his usual table wearing a beanie, courtesy of Isaac, who had it in his locker from the winter. A fashion statement Stiles immediately noticed when he sat down beside his boyfriend. 

“What’s with the hat?” Stiles asked, before he popped the top on his soda can. 

“Do you promise not to laugh?” Jackson asked. He took the hat off, revealing Mr. Harris’ warning was true. His hair is a brown ring around a big, blonde splotch.  
Noticing Stiles’ smirk growing, he held up a finger. “Laugh and we break up.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it,” Stiles said, behind a slight chuckle. “I take it this isn’t a permanent look for you?”

“The appointment at the salon is already made for after school,” Jackson affirmed, putting the hat back on. “Until then, this stays on.”

“You get no argument from me, Jax,” Stiles said. “I happen to think you look hot in Isaac’s hat.”

“Which I’m gonna want back,” Isaac said, sitting down across from the pair, propping his casted leg up on the bench beside Jackson. “So, that means you’re not allowed to use it in any fetish play, Stiles.”

“We’re not even—“ Stiles stumbled. “We haven’t gotten that far, Isaac,” he said, softly, almost shy.

“Don’t worry, Isaac,” Jackson changed the subject. “You’ll get it back tomorrow, freshly washed and everything.”

They were then joined by Liam, who had someone new with him. “Hey, guys,” Liam said. “This is Theo. He’s new here, and I thought he could sit with us.”

“Hey,” Theo said, softly. “I hope this is alright.” 

“Hell yeah,” Stiles said, motioning to the table. “Welcome to Beacon Hills, buddy!”

“Thanks,” Theo replied as he sat down beside Liam, who introduced the group to him after Danny joined the table. 

As the group ate their lunch and talked, they found that Theo had fit right into their group. Liam especially liked having someone to tell his bad jokes to. 

“I have one,” Theo chimed in. “’So, Mr. Mouse,’ the divorce attorney said. ’I can’t grant you this divorce on the grounds that your wife Minnie is crazy.’ ‘I didn’t say she was crazy,’ Mickey replied. ‘I said she was fucking Goofy!’” The whole group started laughing.

Isaac looked at the time on his cell phone. “Crap, its past time for me to get to my next class,” he said, maneuvering around to get up. Scott helped him with his crutches and picked up his books. “I’ll see you guys later,” Scott said, looking the group over. “Theo, its nice meeting you.”

“Yeah, you’re welcome to sit with us anytime,” Isaac chimed in, before going off to his next class, with Scott following him. 

“We’d better get on our way, too, Stiles,” Jackson said, picking their stuff up off the table. 

“It was nice to meet you guys,” Theo said, as Stiles and Jackson got up. 

“Yeah, you too,” Jackson replied. “Feel free to join us anytime.” 

After Jackson and Stiles left, Theo looked at Liam. “Do you not usually go with them?” he asked. 

“My next class isn’t that far way,” Liam replied. “Those four are on the other side of campus.”

“That’s cool.” Theo finished eating the rest of his sandwich. “I hope I’m not crossing any lines here, but do you have any plans this afternoon?”

Liam went a bit wide-eyed at this. “Uh, no,” he stammered. “Why do you ask?”

“You’ve been so good at showing me around the school,” Theo explained. “Could you extend the tour to the town?”

Liam smiled. “Yeah, sure,” he said. “I know all the right places.”

After school, Stiles was in his bedroom browsing through Facebook and Instagram on his computer. Or, as he calls it, being the responsible student he is, doing homework. In the middle of watching a new movie trailer, his phone started to buzz. Looking at the caller ID on the screen, he smiled, pressing the little green button. 

“How’d the salon go, baby?” he asked, putting the phone to his ear. 

“I’m back to normal,” Jackson replied on the other end of the line. “All it took was 2 hours and 150 bucks, but I’m now my old, dirty blonde self.” 

“Well, that’s good to know,” Stiles laughed. He shifted, and accidentally hit a button on his phone, starting up music. 

“I’ve been making plans for children/Since I’ve been looking in your eyes,” the female voice sang out of Stiles’ computer speakers. 

“Is that Faith Hill I hear?” Jackson asked, voice rising a touch. 

“Yeah,” Stiles answered. “I was listening to some music before you called.”

“I’m so proud!” Jackson said, in a mock proud mama voice. 

“Did you have a reason for calling, or just to bug me?” Stiles asked, turning the music off. 

“Actually, I do, oh, swell boyfriend of mine,” Jackson chimed. “My mom is going out tonight, and I don’t exactly want to be alone—“

“And you need your big, strong man to come protect you?” Stiles asked, walking up to his window, and giving Jackson, who was in his own window a smirk. 

Jackson bent down, and picked up Chewie, holding him up to the window. “You know I have this ferocious beast for that, Stiles,” he said. “I just want to have some human company tonight, preferably with my favorite human.” 

Stiles smiled. “Of course I’ll come hang with you, babe. I’ll be right over.” 

“Thanks,” Jackson said, hanging up his phone. He then waved out of his window, and left the room. Stiles put on his jacket and ran downstairs. 

He stepped out of the house, and saw Jackson already on his own front step; his kitten snuggled up tightly in his arms. Stiles quickly jogged across the two yards up to his boyfriend. “Hey, Jax,” Stiles said with a grin as Chewie started to paw at the sling across Stiles’ chest. Stiles batted the paw away playfully. 

“Now I see why you rushed over,” Jackson joked. “You just wanted to play with my cat.”

“You kidding?” Stiles replied, scratching Chewie’s head. “This little guy is half the reason I’m dating you.” 

“Just get in here,” Jackson said, rolling his eyes, and stepping aside. Stiles followed his order.

“Where are we going?” Stiles asked one he got in the house and toed off his shoes. 

“Bedroom?” Jackson asked, pointing the way upstairs. 

“Sure,” Stiles complied. He followed his boyfriend up the stairs. Upon entering the bedroom, Stiles quickly sat down on the bed. “Have you thought about the dance much, Jax?” Stiles asked as Jackson sat Chewie in his lacrosse stick and sat down beside him.

“You mean in the 8 hours since we decided to go?”

“It’s kinda short notice, isn’t it?” he laughed nervously. 

“Come on,” Jackson said, soothingly, wrapping an arm around Stiles’ shoulders. “Is there something you want to talk about?” 

“I’ve never really been to a dance,” Stiles admitted softly. Jackson pulled Stiles in closer. “Why not?” he asked. 

“I’ve never really …” he started, before finding the right words. “I can’t dance.” 

“Well, damn, baby,” Jackson said through a smile. “I can take care of that right now.”

Jackson stood up and walked over to his iPod dock. “I mean, if you want to.” 

Stiles smiled back. “Yeah,” he answered. “I’d like that.” 

Jackson turned back to the music player and started going through his collection. Pushing a button, the slow melody of Heartbeat by Carrie Underwood started pumping out of the speakers. “I figured we’d start with a basic slow dance,” he said, walking up to his boyfriend, and extending his hand. “May I have this dance?” 

Stiles took the outstretched hand and stood up. Jackson pulled him close, and placed a hand on each of Stiles’ slender hips. “Now, this will be different when you get your cast off, and you’ll have both hands, but place your right one on my left hip,” Jackson instructed. 

Stiles followed the order. Jackson then pulled him closer to his body. “Now, we just sway to the beat of the song,” he said, slowly rocking his hips from side to side. “You feel that?” 

“Yeah,” Stiles whispered, as he started to move his hips with Jackson. “Like this?”

“That’s perfect, baby,” Jackson whispered back, as Stiles leaned his head on Jackson’s chest. “This isn’t so hard is it?” he asked. 

“No it’s not,” Stiles replied. 

“Tonight, I wanna drive so far, we only find static on the radio,” Jackson sang softly, along with the song. Stiles looked up amazed. “You can sing?” 

“I don’t normally,” Jackson replied. “Not in public anyway.” 

“You’re good, though.” 

“Thanks,” Jackson said. “Underneath the harvest moon, standing on your shoes in my barefeet. Dancing to the rhythm of your heartbeat,” he sang more. 

They stayed like that through the rest of the song. As Carrie Underwood’s voice reached a Crescendo , Stiles stood straight up, and captured Jackson’s mouth in a deep kiss. As the final beats played out he broke the kiss. “I love you so much,” he whispered. 

“You do?” Jackson asked, eyes wide, as a new song started. 

“I really do,” Stiles replied, a tear starting to roll down his cheek. Jackson reached his thumb up and wiped it away. “I love you too, Stiles.” 

He kissed Stiles back, moving Stiles onto the bed. Stiles used his good hand to unbutton Jackson’s shirt. Halfway down, he stopped and looked at his boyfriend. “Unless you want to slow down,” he said. 

“Hell no, Stiles,” He finished the job Stiles started by pulling the shirt up above his head. 

“Fuck,” Stiles breathed out. “You’re just too fucking beautiful.” He then unhooked his sling and set it down on the floor. Jackson made quick work of pulling Stiles’ shirt up over his head, being mindful of the cast.

Stiles then undid the button on his jeans and slid out of them. Jackson followed his cue and did the same thing. “You’re looking pretty goddamn beautiful yourself, Stiles,” He said, taking in the sight of the boy now lying down on his bed. Stiles reached up, and pulled Jackson down on top of him. “You really want to do this?” Jackson asked. 

Stiles only answered with another kiss. 

After they finished, Stiles laid curled up into Jackson’s grip. “That was amazing,” he whispered, gazing into Jackson’s eyes. 

“You weren’t too bad yourself,” Jackson replied, placing a kiss on the top of Stiles’ head. They stayed in each other’s embrace as they slowly fell asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was always gonna leave the sex implied, in the spirit of the light, 90s teen comedies that inspired this story. But don't worry. The good stuff has been posted under the title "2 Become 1" and is the next fic in the series. 
> 
> As always, comments and kudos are appreciated!


	11. I Don't Want to Miss a Thing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stiles and Jackson enjoy the morning after, with a little teasing from their parents. Noah has a surprise for Stiles. Liam gets to know Theo. And the boys face opposition that quickly scampers off with its tail between its legs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am SO sorry this took so long. Back in late March, I threw my back out, and it took a month to heal. (Seriously, I was in bed until the day the Death Cure Blu-ray came out.) Then I got sick, and then my internet went out for a week. But I'm back now, with a supersized chapter! I hope you guys enjoy it! 
> 
> Trigger warning for mild homophobia. 
> 
> This chapter contains lyrics to The Fighter by Keith Urban and Carrie Underwood.
> 
> Chapter song: I Don't Want to Miss a Thing by Aerosmith

The next morning, the sun’s rays shone through Jackson’s bedroom window, landing squarely on the sleeping face of Chewie, curled up in his Lacrosse stick. The kitten awoke with a yawn, and climbed out onto the dresser. 

Looking around the room, he noticed a new lump in his owner’s bed. Immediately curious, he hopped from the dresser onto the bed, and crawled alongside the side of the bed inspecting the lump.

At the thump of Chewie landing on the bed, Jackson stirred awake. He reached onto his bedside table and grabbed the small pair of glasses that rested beside the alarm clock. Slipping them on, he smiled as he watched his pet kitten crawl curiously up the sleeping form of his boyfriend. 

He couldn’t resist this perfect opportunity. As Chewie reached Stiles’ head, Jackson grabbed his phone, and covertly snapped a quick pic of the kitten nose to nose with the sleeping boy. 

Chewie leaned in close and touched his nose to Stiles’. Stiles in return, started to stir, but stayed asleep. Chewie reached out his paw and batted at Stiles’ face. 

Sleepily, Stiles batted the paw away, eliciting a soft meow from the kitten. 

Jackson stayed in his position with his phone out, enjoying the hell out of this. Finally, Chewie decided to try one last thing. He leaned forward and licked Stiles’ nose. 

That caused Stiles to jolt awake with a start. He sat bolt upright in the bed, causing the poor kitten to nearly fall from the bed, thankfully saved by Jackson’s hand. 

“Good morning, baby,” Jackson laughed. 

“What was that?” Stiles asked through a yawn. 

“Our little buddy here wanted to wake you,” Jackson cooed, cuddling the kitten. Stiles reached out and scratched Chewie’s head. “Thanks, little guy.” He then looked down and saw Jackson’s phone still on. 

“Did you take a picture?” 

“No?” Jackson asked, slowly reaching toward the phone. Stiles was faster though, snatching it up, and looking at the picture Jackson snapped. 

“You took a picture of me sleeping?”

“Technically, I took a picture of Chewie,” Jackson defended. “You just happened to be in the frame?”

Stiles laughed and put the phone back down. “You’re such a dork.”

Jackson set Chewie down on the ground and leaned over to kiss his boyfriend. “How are you feeling?” he asked. “After last night, I mean.”

“I’m great,” Stiles replied with a crooked smile. “A little sore back there, but otherwise, I’m good.”

Jackson smiled. “I hope it was everything you wanted it to be.”

“It really was.” Stiles moved to get his underwear off of the floor and slide them on. “Don’t hate me for asking this, but I take it that wasn’t your first time?” he asked as he slid the item of clothing up onto his body.

“It wasn’t,” Jackson said. “You were actually the second guy.”

“Do you mind me asking who was first?”

“Danny.”

Stiles’ eyes went wide. “Really?” He put his T-shirt on.

“Yeah,” Jackson replied as he found Stiles’ sling on his side of the bed and tossed it over to his boyfriend. “It was a couple years ago. I was….questioning myself. 

Talked to Danny about it, and after talking about it for a while, he offered to help me answer those questions.”

Stiles just smiled. “That was cool of him,” he said, fixing the sling around his neck. 

Jackson sat down beside his boyfriend and put an arm around his shoulder. 

You’re not gonna let things get weird with us because of what I just said are you?”

“Not at all,” Stiles said, leaning into his boyfriend’s embrace. “You’re not allowed to see Danny anymore,” he deadpanned. 

Jackson looked down at Stiles. “You can’t be serious,” he started to defend himself. “It was 3 years ago, one time! And I know you and Scott used to make out like crazy before he met Isaac, so don’t start with that. “

A sly grin crossed Stiles’ face. “Gotcha,” he said with a laugh. 

Jackson pushed Stiles away from him. “You asshole.”

“I’m your asshole though, right?” Stiles asked.

“You got that right,” Jackson grinned as he leaned forward for a kiss. “So, what do you want to do today?” 

“Whatever you want is fine,” Stiles said, contentedly. “Is there anything you like to do that I don’t know about yet?”

“I can think of something,” Jackson said, with a glint of mischief in his eye. 

“What?”

Jackson didn’t say anything. He answered by wrapping his arms around Stiles’ waist and throwing themselves back onto the bed. 

Before they could get too far, though, Jackson’s text alert went off. Stiles snatched the phone off of the bed and looked at the screen. 

“Who’s Alpha Dork?” He asked, raising an eyebrow. 

“It’s Scott,” Jackson answered, snatching his phone back, and sitting up. 

“Do we all have cute nicknames?” Stiles asked, sitting up beside him.

“Isaac is Scarf Boy,” Jackson started, “Liam is Beta Dork, and Danny is Lilo.” 

“Lilo?”

“You know, the Hawaiian kid who had trouble finding friends, until she met someone who felt like he was designed to fuck things up.”

Stiles gave Jackson a sad smile as he wrapped an arm around his shoulder. “What does Scott want?” He asked. 

Jackson looked down at his phone. 

Alpha Dork  
12:14 PM  
You+Stiles Me+Isaac DD for lunch and movie? 

“If we wanted to meet him and Isaac for a double date.” 

“You want to?” Stiles asked. “We have no other plans.”

“Sure,” Jackson smiled. “But we need to shower and change.”

Stiles got up and straightened his clothes back out. “Let me go shower and change?” he asked. “Meet back here in 30?”

“Sure,” Jackson said, standing and kissing Stiles softly. “I’ll let Scott know.”

Stiles started to walk out the room, but stopped and turned back. “Oh, and don’t put your contacts in,” he said. “I like your glasses.”

“Next thing I know you’ll be telling me I look sexy with my hair pushed back,” Jackson laughed. Stiles walked back up to his boyfriend and pushed his hair back out of his face. “No,” he said. “I like it the way you normally keep it.”

“Just go home, dork,” Jackson said with a laugh. Without another word, Stiles made his way out of the bedroom.

Where he came face to face with Jacksons mom. 

“Shit,” Stiles gasped under his breath. “Uh, Mrs. Whittemore, it’s not what it looks like, I promise,” he rambled. 

“You think you’re the first person I’ve seen sneak out of Jackson’s room in the morning?” Constance asked, looking the boy down. “At least it’s you, and not that last chick who always looked like she stepped in a pile of dog poo. I just hope you boys were safe.”

Stiles blushed at this. “You have nothing to worry about, ma’am,” he said. “I have to go get ready. We’re going out for the afternoon. 

“Okay, Stiles,” Constance replied. “Hope to talk to you again soon.”

“Later!” he called out, headed down the stairs and out the front door. 

Constance then turned to open her son’s bedroom door. “You’ll never guess who I ran into out in the hall!” she called out in a mock cheerful voice.

Within seconds, Stiles was back at his house. Upon entry, he was greeted by his dad, sitting on the stairs, clutching a small paper bag. 

“Hey, Stiles,” he said, looking up at his son, fiddling with the bag. “Did you and Jackson have a nice night?” 

“Um…” Stiles hummed, trying to find an answer. “We didn’t—It wasn’t planned,” Stiles stammered, having totally been busted. 

“Stiles, just breathe,” Noah said, getting up and walking up to his son. “You’re not in trouble.”

“I’m not?” Stiles asked. 

“You’re 17,” Noah replied. “You’re gonna be fooling around with your boyfriend. We had this talk right after you came out.” He held out the bag. “Which is why I got you this.” 

Stiles took the bag and looked inside. “Did you seriously buy me condoms?” 

“I came home from work last night and saw you weren’t here,” Noah explained. “I called Scott and Isaac and they said you weren’t with them. They then told me Liam said you weren’t with him. I put two and two together when it got later. And if you’re going to be staying the night at your boyfriend’s house, I didn’t want to risk something happening and you not being prepared for it.” 

“I’m sorry I worried you,” Stiles apologized. “We didn’t plan it, and we certainly didn’t plan on falling asleep.” 

“Even more reason to use what’s in the bag” Noah asked. “Also, next time you skip out to stay with Jackson, leave a note or a text?” 

“I promise I will, Dad,” Stiles said with a slight smile. He looked in the bag again. “Oh, my god.” He reached in and pulled out a small tube. “Bacon scented lube? Really?”

“That was more of a gag gift,” Noah admitted. 

“Good,” Stiles laughed. “I love bacon, but I don’t exactly want Jackson’s junk to remind me of a home cooked breakfast.” 

He then started to move past Noah. “So, yeah. Good talk, Dad,” he said, moving up the stairs. “I kinda have to go get washed up now, cause I’m meeting the guys this afternoon.”

“Before you leave, I want to show you something,” Noah called out as Stiles reached the top of the stairs.

“Uh, yeah, sure,” Stiles called down before going into his room. 

Noah pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and dialed. “Hey, Jordan,” he said into the phone. “Yeah, he’s home. About 10 minutes? Good.” He then hung up and sat down on the couch. 

Up in his room, Stiles stood at his desk with the bag his father had given him clutched in his hand. After thinking a minute, he dumped the contents on the desk and snapped a picture with his phone. He then placed the box of condoms and joke bottle of lube in a drawer. 

After firing off a quick text of the picture to Jackson (Captioned “How dad reacted to my night out.”), he ran to the bathroom. 

Later, after he was clean and dressed in a fresh outfit, Stiles bounced down the stairs humming a song under his breath. He stopped in his tracks upon seeing his dad and one of his deputies talking to Jackson, who was sitting on the couch. 

“Oh, god, guys,” Stiles said seeing the scene. “You’re not giving him any father with a shotgun speeches are you? Cause that’s one of the shittiest forms of dad humor ever.” 

Noah turned to his son and smiled. “Oh, there you are, Stiles,” he said, excited. “We have something to show you!”

Stiles wearily stepped down the stairs, taking his phone out of his pocket. “Okay, but I’m dialing 9 and 1 just in case this doesn’t end well.”

“Just come outside,” Jordan, the deputy, said, as all of the men walked toward the door. Stiles opened it and stepped out. He stopped immediately, “Holy shit!” he yelled out, seeing the surprise waiting for him in the driveway. 

“You got me a car?” Stiles asked, amazed. He looked on into the driveway and saw a 2004 Ford Explorer SUV in the same color as his beloved, late Jeep. “I love it!” he shouted as he ran off toward the automobile. 

“You could at least say thank you!” Noah called out after his son, who was damn near skipping to the new car like a winner on The Price is Right.

Stiles stopped in his tracks and ran back up to the porch. “Thanks, Dad!” he shouted with a hug on the elder Stilinski. 

“Come on, Jackson,” he said, taking his boyfriend by the hand. “We’ve gotta go pick up Scott and Isaac.” 

“Aren’t you forgetting something?” Noah asked, holding out the key, dangling on the end of a mini Funko Pop keychain of Luke Skywalker. Another item dangled from the end of the same chain. It appeared to be a nut of some kind. 

“What’s that?” Jackson asked, pointing toward the item. 

“It’s a lug nut from the jeep,” Noah said with a sad glint in his eye. “The jeep was his mother’s. This way, he’ll now always have a piece of it with him.” 

A tear started to form in Stiles’ eye. “Dad, thank you,” he said. “I love it so much.” 

“Go on, get out of here,” Noah told his son. “Go have fun with your friends.”

Stiles and Jackson didn’t need to be told twice. Jackson took Stiles’ hand again and the two boys raced off the porch. 

Jackson helped Stiles up into the driver’s seat and shut the door for him before climbing into the passenger’s seat. “You got this, baby?” he asked, doing his seat belt up. 

“Yeah,” Stiles smiled, starting the car up and putting it into gear. “Let’s go get the other half of this double date!” 

“Hey, there’s a CD in here,” Jackson said, pointing to a little light on the stereo. 

“Turn it on,” Stiles told him, still looking at the road. This being his first time driving since the accident, he didn’t want to risk another one. 

Jackson did what he was told. The first song was an immediate favorite of both boys. 

“I know he hurt you,” The voice sang out of the speakers. “Made you scared to love, so scared of love.”

“This is so perfect!” Jackson squee’d out. “It’s our song!” 

The rest of the trip to Scott and Isaac’s house was filled with Stiles and Jackson singing along to Keith Urban and Carrie Underwood’s The Fighter at the top of their lungs. 

They pulled into the McCall driveway in time to see Scott’s mom Melissa standing by her car. Stiles maneuvered over to open the door with his good hand, and jumped out. “Hey, Mrs. McCall!” he called out, getting the woman’s attention. “Did you see my new ride?”

“I do now,” Melissa said, approvingly. “It definitely suits you. Hey, Jackson,” she called out to the boy behind Stiles. 

“Hi, Mrs. McCall,” Jackson called out. “You off to work?”

“Somebody’s gotta help the sick of this town get better,” Melissa said, opening the door of her car. “By the way, Stiles, now that you’re back behind the wheel, please refrain from putting any more of my boys in the hospital.”

“Oh, my god mom,” Isaac called out from behind Melissa. “You do remember Stiles scrambled his brain and broke his arm in that accident, don’t you?” 

“This is what happens when you grow up with a nurse for a mom,” Scott said from beside his boyfriend. “Get hurt with a friend once and you never hear the end of it.” 

Melissa turned to stank eye her son, but he only countered that with a big hug. “Love you, mom.” 

“Love you too,” Melissa replied. “Both of you boys.” She turned and wrapped Isaac in the hug. “You boys seriously be careful.”

“Don’t worry, we will be,” Jackson said. “I’ll make sure of it.”

“I’m holding that to you, Jackson,” Melissa said, releasing her sons from her grip. “Have fun!” 

Scott and Isaac walked up to Stiles’ car and looked at it admiringly. “This is sweet, dude!” Scott said, opening a back door for Isaac. Isaac climbed in without much trouble, and handed his crutches out to Scott. “Is it cool if I put these in the back?” 

“Sure thing, Scott,” Stiles chirped, taking the keys out of his pocket and hitting the hatch release on the remote. Scott moved around and slid the crutches into the open hatch. 

After he joined Isaac in the back, Scott and Stiles climbed into the front and the two couples were off.

***

Across town at a coffee shop, Liam and his new friend Theo sat at a table, each nursing a frozen coffee drink, getting to know each other.

“We really needed the change of scenery,” Theo said, solemnly. “After the accident and losing my sister, we were all in a really bad place. But thankfully, we’re getting better.”

“I’m sorry for your loss,” Liam said, looking down at his cup, not really knowing what else to say.

“Why do people say that?” Theo asked. “’I’m sorry for your loss.’ Like I know it’s a sympathy or empathy thing, but I’ve never understood the wording of it.”

“You’re right,” Liam chuckled. “How about this. As long as we’re friends, you’ll get no more ‘sorrys’ from me.”

Theo smiled. “I’d like that.” He took a drink of his coffee. “You said ‘As long as we’re friends.” Does that mean you want to be my friend?”

“Fuck yeah, I do!” Liam nearly shouted. “You’re a cool guy, Theo. I’ve had had so much fun today showing you around town.”

“My second day in town, and I already have a friend,” Theo smiled. “Awesome! So, what’s next?” 

“Wanna go to the mall?” Liam asked. “We might find the others there and do a big hang out.” 

“Let’s go,” Theo grinned after finishing the last of his drink. The two boys then disposed of their empty cups and left the coffee shop.

***

A few hours after starting their date, Scott, Isaac, Stiles, and Jackson sat in a booth at the food court. Stiles leaned against Jackson, while Scott lays his head on Isaac’s chest. 

“That was a good movie,” Scott said as Isaac played with his hair. 

“It was” Stiles sighed contentedly. He looked up at his boyfriend. “What did you think, Jackson?”

“It was fun,” Jackson said, before kissing Stiles’ forehead. “As long as you had fun, I did.” 

Jackson reached down and took Stiles’ hand in his own, threading their fingers together. “Do any of you have any idea what to do next?”

Before anyone could answer, their table was approached by a woman none of them had ever seen before. She was a conservative looking, well put together woman.  
Her long dark hair put up neatly in a bun, with a shawl wrapped around her shoulders that goes perfectly with her floral print dress. 

“Excuse me, young man,” she said, aiming her steely gaze toward Jackson. 

Stiles and Scott both sat up, directing their attention toward the lady. 

“Yes?” Jackson answered, still holding his boyfriend’s hand. 

“Would you mind not doing that here?” the woman asked. “There are families around.”

“Doing what?” Jackson asked. “We’re just sitting here.” 

The lady pointed to Stiles. “He’s been all over you since you sat down.” 

“I just put my head on his chest,” Stiles defended. “We always sit like that.” 

“He also kissed you,” The woman accused. “It’s obscene, and has no place in this family environment.” 

“That was nothing,” Jackson said. “I just showed a small piece of affection to my boyfriend.” 

“If Stiles were a girl, would you be doing this?” Isaac asked, breaking his normal silence. 

“Excuse me?” The woman asked, looking over at the boy, as he shifted, taking weight off of his bad leg. 

“You heard me,” he replied. “If Stiles were a girl, or Scott, because he was leaning on me the same way. If they were girls, would you be bugging us with your ‘concerns?’”

The woman started to stutter a bit, trying to find an answer. “Oh, look,” Isaac said, pointing to another table. “There’s a couple who’s doing the exact thing we were  
doing. You wanna go bother them?” 

Still the woman stammered. Scott and Stiles exchanged shocked looks as their normally meek, quiet, non-confrontational friend just ripped into this lady. 

“I can tell by your lack of response that you weren’t expecting us to fight back,” Isaac said. “So, why don’t you go on back to wherever you came from and let the four of us continue enjoying our afternoon?”

With a huff, the woman turned and walked away, muttering “disrespectful brats” under her breath.

Stiles looked at his friend. “Holy shit, dude!”

“Where the fuck did that come from?” Jackson asked with a high five. 

“I know that type,” Isaac said with a blush. “She was a few seconds away from quoting Leviticus, and I was not in the mood for that shit.” 

Just then, Liam and Theo walked up to the group. “Hey, guys,” Liam chirped. “What’s up?”

“Isaac ripped into a homophobic woman so hard, she’ll be clutching her pearls for a week,” Jackson replied. “It was pretty awesome.”

“Was it the dead ringer for Mrs. Carmody that we saw coming in?” Theo asked, behind a laugh. 

“Who?” Isaac asked, raising an eyebrow, not really getting the reference. 

“I’ll explain later,” Theo said, waving off the remark. 

“You guys wanna hang with us?” Scott asked the two new boys, getting up, and helping Isaac up. “We don’t know what we’re gonna do, but it sure has to beat sitting around here all day.”

“Yeah that sounds fun,” Liam replied. Stiles and Jackson joined the boys in standing. After Isaac got back on his crutches, the six boys walked off to enjoy the rest of their day together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, about the Mrs. Carmody reference Theo makes. When I wrote the description of the woman who confronts the boys, I kept wondering "Why does she sound so familiar." Then I saw a picture of Marcia Gay Harden's character from The Mist, Mrs. Carmody on Facebook, and it hit me I described her to a T. LOL. 
> 
> As always, I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter! Kudos and comments are always appreciated!


	12. Old Flames (Can't Hold a Candle to You)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An old fear rears its ugly head for Stiles, Jackson gets an invitation, and Derek tries to make amends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took so long to get this written! It seems like nothing I could do would work to get the muse back for this one. But it finally did! 
> 
> Chapter song: Old Flames (Can't Hold a Candle to You) by Kesha featuring Dolly Parton
> 
> This chapter also contains lyrics to the songs I'll Never Break Your Heart by Backstreet Boys and Honey Bee by Blake Shelton.

Stiles sat at his desk, typing away at a report for History, Britney Spears’ Baby One More Time playing on the small laptop speakers. Despite the driving rain pounding on his window, he’d found a pretty good rhythm.

Then with a loud clap of thunder, the entire house went dark. “Fuck,” Stiles said softly as he felt around the desk for his phone. Luckily, he put a full charge on it before this happened.  He used the light from the screen to make his way over to the bed.

Right as he sat on the mattress, A flash of lightning illuminated the room accompanied by a loud clap of thunder, startling a scream out of Stiles. He quickly brought his feet up on the bed, and dialed Jackson’s number.

On the first ring, Jackson picked up. “Hello?” the voice rang out into the darkness.

“Hey, baby,” Stiles said with a shaky voice.

“Stiles?” Jackson asked. “Are you alright?”

“I don’t much like storms,” Stiles said. “I know some people find them relaxing, but I can’t.”

“Stiles, it’s okay,” Jackson said in a soothing voice. “I know your history with bad weather. You’re forgiven if you still feel anxious when the sky opens up.”

Stiles lay down on his bed and curled his knees up under his chin. “Can you do something for me, Jax?” he said into the phone softly.

“Anything, baby,” Jackson replied. “Just name it.”

“Can you sing to me?”

Stiles could practically hear the smile coming from the other end of the phone. “Of course, “ Jackson said.

Stiles put his head on the pillow, put his phone on speaker, and laid it beside him as Jackson started  singing.

“From the first day that I saw your smiling face, Honey I knew that we would be together forever,” Jackson sang softly.

“Backstreet Boys?” Stiles asked, a tear forming in his eye. “I love you so much, Jackson.”

“I’ll never break your heart,” Jackson continued to sing. “I’ll never make you cry. I’d rather die, than live without you.”

Before he knew it, Stiles felt himself drift off to sleep to the sound of the song.      

A few hours later, Noah came in from work to find the digital clock beside the TV blinking 12:00. He went to go fix it when he heard a faint voice coming out of Stiles’ room. Curious, he walked upstairs to check it out.

Upon entering the room, he saw his son asleep on top of his blankets, with his cell phone beside his pillow; Jackson’s voice coming out of it.

“I’ll be your soft and sweet, you’ll be my strong and steady,” Jackson sang with a sleepy ting behind his voice.  “You be my glass of wine I’ll be your shot of whiskey—“

Noah leaned down and plucked the phone up off of the pillow. “He’s asleep, son,” He said into the device. “Nice singing voice though.”

“He was scared,” Jackson explained. “The power was out, and he called me to talk.”

“Thank you, Jackson,” Noah said into the phone. “I’m glad he had you. Now, get some sleep. I’ll tell him you went to bed tomorrow.”

“Goodnight, Mr. Stilinski,” Jackson said before hanging up. Noah smiled as he laid the phone on Stiles’ desk and connected the charger. He then adjusted a blanket over his son’s shoulders and left the room.

The next morning, Stiles yawned as he walked down the stairs to the kitchen. His eyes opened all the way when the smell of bacon hit his nostrils.

“That better be turkey bacon I smell,” Stiles called out as he reached the bottom of the stairs. As he turned into the kitchen, he saw his father at the stove with a pan sizzling, and his boyfriend at the table munching on a crispy piece.

“Tastes like regular to me,” Jackson said with a smile.

“Lighten up, Stiles,” Noah said, transferring his pan load on to a plate and turning the stove off. “This is a special occasion. I’ve never had one of your boyfriends over for breakfast before.

Stiles sat down next to his boyfriend and kissed his cheek. “Thanks for last night, Jackson,” he said in a soft voice. “Haven’t slept that during a storm in…well, ever.”

“Anytime,” Jackson replied with a smile. “That’s what I’m here for.”

Noah carried the plate over to the table and sat down opposite the two boys. “So, you guys have the big winter dance coming up, right?”

“Yes, sir,” Jackson responded. “The 27th. Gonna pick Stiles and Isaac up from their orthopedist appointment and we’re gonna get ready at my house after.”

“Sounds like fun,” Noah said, before taking a drink of his coffee. “Now, I’m not saying I condone it, but I know alcohol shows up at these things sometimes.”

Stiles immediately rolled his eyes and buried his head in Jackson’s shoulder. “Oh, god,” he said low.

“I just want you to be careful,” Noah said, sincerely. “I want you to call me or Parrish if something happens. That goes for all of you.”

“Don’t worry, Mr. Stilinski,” Jackson told him, making Stiles sit back up. If any of us or our friends happen to drink, we’ll call you.”

“Good,” Noah replied. “And I promise you won’t get in trouble.”

Stiles looked up at the clock on the wall. 6:30. “Crap,” he said, standing up and grabbing his keys off of the hook on the wall. “We’ve gotta pick up Scott and Isaac.”

Just then, Jackson’s phone beeped with a message. “I can’t ride with you,” he said with a frown, putting his phone back in his pocket and moving to the door. “Coach called early practice before school.” 

Both boys stood up and picked their school bags up. “Bye, Dad,” Stiles said, giving Noah a quick hug.

“Have a good day,” Noah replied. “Both of you.”

“Thanks, Mr. Stilinski,” Jackson said as he walked out of the door. “Bye, dad,” Stiles said quickly, following him.

Outside, Stiles followed Jackson to his car. “I guess I’ll see you at lunch, huh?”

Jackson leaned over and kissed Stiles. “Yeah. See you then, baby.” He then got into the Porsche and drove away as Stiles walked to his car.

***

_Early morning practices are the fucking worst_ , Jackson thought as he trudged into the locker room. He  quickly moved to his locker where he stripped off and store his dirty practice clothes before going to the showers.

Jackson rejoiced the feel of the steaming hot water hitting his skin after the hour outside in the January cold. “Hey Whittemore!” A voice from beside him called out, making Jackson jump nearly slipping on the suds at his feet.

“Shit, Brett,” Jackson shouted, as he caught himself. “Don’t do that again!”

Jackson’s teammate Brett Talbot just shrugged and continued washing himself down. “Sorry, man. Just wanted to get your attention.”

“Well, what’s going on?” Jackson asked, slightly annoyed at the other boy’s intrusion.

“Having a party for the team on Friday,” Brett explained, before shutting off the water. “You’re invited.  Bring those new friends of yours with you.”

Jackson washed soap off of his face and hair, and then turned the shower off. “I’ll ask him,” He said before walking to where he left his towel, wrapping it around his waist, and returning to his locker.

***

“A party?” Stiles asked at lunch, in between bites of his burger. “Like an actual popular people drinking alcohol out of red plastic cups while pop music plays in the background of people sneaking upstairs for a place to fuck party?”

Scott laughed from across the table. “You watched 10 Things I Hate About You again, didn’t you?”

“Yes,” Jackson answered his boyfriend. “It’s just some stupid thing one of the guys on the team is throwing on Friday night.”

Stiles shrugged as he looked to his boyfriend. “I’ve never really liked parties,” he said quietly. “I mean, the wildest bash I’ve been to is a slasher movie marathon with Scott and Isaac last year.”

“Oh, yeah,” Isaac remembers. “All 9 Nightmare on Elm Street movies in one night.”

“13 hours well spent,” Scott added.

Before the conversation could go any further, Stiles looked away from his friends to find Derek standing at the table.

“Hey, Stiles,” Derek said, hands in his pockets, looking downward.

“What do you want?” Stiles answered.

“Can I talk to you?”

Jackson nudged his boyfriend’s shoulder. “You’re gonna want to hear what he has to say,” he whispered into Stiles’ ear.

Stiles sat straight up. “Okay, Derek. Say what you need to.”

“Can we talk in private?” Derek asked.

“Whatever you have to say to me, you can say here,” Stiles said defiantly. “My friends and boyfriend will hear about it eventually anyway.”

“Jackson actually already knows what I want to say, so I’ll just do it,” Derek started. “Stiles, I’m sorry I hurt you. I was a really shitty boyfriend. I didn’t know about all you’d been through, or how you might have been affected by those rallies or anything else I made you do. I’m really sorry.”

Stiles stood up and walked over to Derek. “I really didn’t like all that,” he said low. “All that medical footage you had me watch at those places? It really brought back some bad stuff for me. Stuff I couldn’t bring myself to talk about.”

“Can you forgive me?” Derek asked.

“Are you doing the same shit with Braeden?”

“She’s um,” Derek started. “She’s actually worse than me at some of this stuff.”

“Really?”

“She’s a vegan. Our last date was at a raw food restaurant.”

“Oh, god,” Stiles cringed. “I saw one of those places on the news. It looked like nothing but—“

“Tofu and that shit you scrape off the bottom of your lawnmower? Yeah. I’d kill for a burger.”

Stiles laughed. “I forgive you,” He said with a smile. “And anytime you want to sneak away for real food, we can make room.”

“No,” Derek said, declining the offer. “You look like you’re having a great time with your friends. I don’t want to disrupt that. But I will take your forgiveness.”

And with that, he was gone. Stiles sat back down at the table still smiling. “That went well,” Danny said, snatching a fry off of Jackson’s plate. Jackson tried to swat his friend’s hand away, but came up with nothing.

“It did,” Stiles replied. Liam and Theo then showed up and sat down in their usual spots at the table. The two of them had started spending quite a bit of  time together, and had become fast friends.

“Did we miss anything?” Theo asked.

“Just Stiles making peace with his ex-boyfriend,” Isaac remarked. “Amazingly, no claws came out.”

“So,” Scott asked the group. “What’s the consensus on this party?”

Isaac was the first to speak up. “If you guys help me out  with this thing,” he says, slapping his leg cast, “Sure.”

“You know I like a good party,” Danny chimed in. “I’m in.”

Theo and Liam also agree. Jackson looks over at Stiles, who is tracing shapes on the table. “What do you say, baby?”

“Yeah, I’ll go,” he said softly. “It could be fun.”

With that, Jackson took his phone out of his pocket and sent a quick text. “And it’s done,” he said. “Our first big event as a couple,” he said with a smile.

“Let’s hope it’s fun,” was all Stiles had to say.

***

Inside the hall, Brett’s phone jingled. He took it out of his pocket and read the text from Jackson. It only said  2 words. “We’re in.”

Smiling, he closed out of the message, and dialed a number.

“Hey, I’ve done what you asked me to,” he said as soon as the recipient of his call answered. “They’re going to be there.”

He then hung up the phone and closed his locker before walking to class.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, comments and kudos are much appreciated!
> 
> Also thanks for getting this little story to over 5000 views! Some of ya'll out there seem to love it!


	13. Gettin' Jiggy Wit It

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The night of Brett's party brings fun, laughter, secrets, and heartbreak.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, guys, this is another big chapter. I've planned this since the beginning of this fic, and nearly 28,000 words later, here we are. 
> 
> Trigger warning: There is a non-consensual drunken kiss in this chapter.
> 
> Chapter song: Gettin' Jiggy Wit It by Will Smith

When Stiles said he’d always wanted 4 boys in his room in various stages of undress, he didn’t quite think the logistics through. Nor did he ever think those boys would be his friends and boyfriend. He also didn’t figure on his bedroom being so small.

“So, what time do we have to pick up Scott and Isaac?” Jackson asked, snapping Stiles out of his thoughts. Stiles grabbed his phone off of his desk and looked at the text his best friend had sent him an hour before.

“About 6,” he replied. “We have a couple hours.”

“Cool,” Jackson said, as he finished squeezing into his skinny jeans and admired himself in a mirror on Stiles’ closet door. A door which Stiles closed promptly. “Babe, your ass looks great. Trust me.”

“You kinda have to say that,” Liam interjected as he shrugged on an over shirt over his t-shirt. “Only way you get to play with it and everything.”

That remark was met with a plush kitten bouncing off of Liam’s head courtesy of Jackson. Liam just shook it off and looked in his overnight bag. “Shit. Stiles, do you have a pair of socks I can borrow?”

“Uh, yeah,” Stiles replied, “Top drawer on the right,” he said, pointing at the dresser beside his friend.

Liam opened said drawer and plucked out the first pair of socks he saw. As he started to close the drawer, something caught his eye. “Oh, my god,” he said.

“What is it?” Theo asked, walking up beside his new friend. “Well, speaking of playing with Jackson’s ass,” he snarked reaching into the drawer. He then held up the bottle of bacon lube that Stiles’ father had given him weeks earlier.

“Fuck,” Stiles resigned himself. “I forgot that was there.”

Danny walked up to Theo and snatched the bottle away. “What those two do in private isn’t for us to—Oh, god, it’s sticky.”

“It shouldn’t be,” Jackson said. “We’ve never gotten an opportunity to—“

“I wanted to see if it really tasted like bacon,” Stiles interrupted his boyfriend. Everybody turned to look at Stiles. “What? It wasn’t just me. Scott had some, too!”

“I always knew he was a freak,” Jackson laughed.

“Okay, I now regret calling attention to it,” Liam said, facepalming. “Can we just stop all the sex  jelly talk?”

“As soon as Stiles tells us if it really tastes like bacon,” Theo said. “Or we could all do it right now.”

“I am not standing around my room tasting lube with my friends,” Stiles told them. “Well, again. So, I’ll just say it didn’t and leave it at that.”

“Okay, now we have to try it,” Danny said, squirting a small dot on his finger. Then one on Theo’s when he noticed it in front of him.

“Hold up,” Jackson said, jumping over the bed to the other two boys. “I want in on this.” He turned to see Stiles raising an eyebrow at him. “What?” Jackson asked. “If we ever have to use this stuff, I might as well get used to it.”

“If you assholes keep eating it there won’t be any to use for its intended purpose,” Stiles said with a hint of snark.

The three boys ignored him though, as Danny put the bottle down on the dresser. “Count of three?” he asked, holding up his finger.

“One,” Theo started.

“Two,” Jackson said, looking at the small dot of gel on his finger.

“Three,” Danny finished, as all three popped their fingers into their mouths. Almost instantly, the boys gagged in disgust.

“Oh, fuck!” Theo yelled, shooting Stiles a look of betrayal. “That’s disgusting! Why didn’t you warn us?”

“I tried,” Stiles shrugged.

Danny wiped his finger on his jeans. “It’s like rubbing alcohol and sadness.”

Jackson just wiped his tongue on his hand. “Ugh,” he groaned. “That’s worse than that strawberry glitter shit Lydia insisted on wearing.” He started out the door.

“Where are you going?” Stiles called out.

“To get a soda,” Jackson yelled back. “Get that taste out of my mouth!”

Stiles just laughed as he hooked his arm sling around his neck.

***

Stiles pulled his car up to the Talbot residence and found a place to park on the sidewalk. Soon after, all 7 of the car’s occupants filed out. “On the way back,” Theo said, as he shut his door, “Could we listen to something other than that Hillbilly music?”

“Theo, Darling,” Jackson said walking up to him. “In the immortal words of demon hunter, bad ass, and all around hottie Dean Winchester, driver picks the music. Shotgun shuts his cakehole.”

“But Stiles was driving,” Theo tried to defend his words.

“Yeah, and I chose it,” Stiles called back, before hitting the button on his keyfob to lock the car. “And on the way back, our lovely DD Scott can choose what he likes.”  

Stiles then moved over beside his boyfriend and wrapped an arm around his shoulders. “Also, baby,” he started. “Dean Winchester is a whiney bitch. Sam’s where it’s at.”

The two started walking toward the house. “Hey, now,” Jackson began. “I don’t make fun of your thing for the dude from the new MacGyver, do I?”

Before Stiles could answer, the group was met by the party’s host Brett.

“Hey, Jackson!” Brett called out, already a little tipsy. Stiles figured the red plastic cup in his hand wasn’t his first, and definitely wouldn’t be his last. “I’m glad you made it!”

“Told you we’d be here, Brett,” Jackson replied.  “And yeah, I brought my boyfriend and a few friends.”

“Well, the more the merrier,” Brett waved the group through the door. “And if your friend needs a place to sit, I’ll run someone off the couch.”

Isaac maneuvered past on his crutches with a thank you. As soon as the group got in, they all took a look around to take in the party. Loud music was pumping out of the tall speakers against the wall, and brown bottles and red cups everywhere.  A simple sniff alerted Stiles to the presence of something illegal in the midst.

 As Brett pointed out where the gang could find the various alcoholic substances, a random teammate of Jackson’s grabbed Stiles by the arm. “Come with me,” he said. “We’re trying to start a game of beer pong, and we need one more.”

“Why me?” Stiles stammered. “Who are you?”

“We have Econ together,” the guy said. “Garrett. I’ve seen you hit the trash can from across the room.”

He then started to pull Stiles away from the group. “I guess I’m going over here,” Stiles said, “Rescue me?”

As soon as they disappeared, Theo took Liam’s hand. “Come on, Littlewolf. Let’s go find a drink.” Before Liam could answer, he was being led away by his new friend, a blush formed on his cheeks at the new nickname.

Scott and Isaac looked at each other. “Littlewolf?” Isaac asked. “Must be something between them,” Scott answered, as he led his boyfriend to the couch so he could get off of his leg.

“Looks like your friends have abandoned you,” Brett told Jackson. “Anything you want to do?”

“I want to go find my boyfriend,” Jackson said matter-of-factly. “Where’s the table set up?”

“Back porch,” Brett said, pointing toward the back of the house.

With that, Jackson squeezed past his friend and set out on his search. Passing through the kitchen, he made sure to grab a bottle out of the cooler on the kitchen counter; a friendly hand with a bottle opener snapping off the lid before he could walk away.

“Thank you,” he said, but he didn’t think the stranger heard him. He then moved to the backdoor, where a crowd gathered to watch the game in progress.

Jackson smiled as he watched Stiles toss his ball and watched it land perfectly into a cup in front of his opponent.

“That’s how it’s done!” Stiles shouted, before high fiving Garrett. Before the two of them could turn back, two balls flew across the table and landed in the cups in front of them. “Really?” Stiles called out looking across the table. He then rolled his eyes as he and Garrett chugged the cups in front of them. Jackson just laughed and took a drink of his own beer.

***

Out in the backyard, Theo and Liam have found the one area of quiet. Sitting on a swing set tucked away in a corner of the yard, the two boys each nursed their own drinks. 

“Did you go to parties like this back in Ojai?” Liam asked as he started swinging back and forth.

“Not really,” Theo replied. “I didn’t really have many friends back there.”

“Why not?”

“There were some um…Some rumors about me,” Theo admitted quietly. “And after they spread, not a lot of people wanted to see me.”

 “Why not?” Liam asked. “It can’t be that bad.”

Theo finished the rest of his bottle and set it down on the ground.  “Do you have any plans for the dance next week?”

“I hadn’t really thought about it,” Liam said. “I just thought I’d go and see what happens.”

“Yeah, me too.” Theo kicked at the ground. “If um, you wanted to hang out then, we could.”

“You mean at the dance?”

“Yeah,” Theo smiled. “That is, if you want to”

“It’ll be nice to have someone to talk to,” Liam said.  “I feel like a 3rd or5th wheel whenever I hang out with the guys. Now that you’re here, that’ll change.”

Theo smiled again. “Thanks for being my friend,” he said. “I almost forgot what it feels like to have one.”

***

Back inside, Scott made his way back to Isaac on the couch, and handed his boyfriend a cup. “Here you go, baby,” he said, sitting down on the couch. Isaac took a questioning sniff of the cup. “Dude, I poured it myself. It’s just Coke,” Scott said.

“Sorry,” Isaac said almost too softly to hear.

“You don’t have to apologize,” Scott replied, kissing his boyfriend on the cheek.

“You guys make a cute couple!” a voice called out from a chair across from them. They looked over and saw Lydia standing there in her bitchy perfectness.

“What do you want, Lydia?” Scott nearly growled.

“Easy, Scott,” Lydia threw her hands up in defense. “I was just saying hello.” She looked around the house. “So, where are the rest of the little rascals?”

“You mean Jackson and Stiles?” Isaac asked. “You think we’d tell you?”

  “Fine,” Lydia shrugged. “I’ll go find them myself. It’s small house. Won’t be that hard.”

With that, she turned on a stiletto, and walked down the hallway into the kitchen.

“Should we text them?” Isaac asked as soon as Lydia was gone.

“Way ahead of you, baby,” Scott replied as he typed a quick warning text on his phone.

***

Outside on the porch, the beer pong tournament had entered its final round. Stiles was looking a bit wobbly while Garrett couldn’t stand anymore. Stiles definitely couldn’t feel his phone vibrate in his pocket.

Jackson was feeling no pain either as he felt the effects of that evening’s liquid intake begin to hit him. As he turned to find a bathroom, he heard another shout. Stiles must have sunk another ball.

Walking inside, he pushed his way through the sea of bodies until he found the bathroom. When he finally made it there, he found a line stretching to the back bedrooms.

“Shit,” he muttered, looking toward the back of the line.

“You need in there?”

Jackson turned around to see Lydia behind him. “Where did you come from?” he asked.

“Just follow me,” she replied, turning around and walking toward the stairs. She stopped and turned back. “Unless you want to wet yourself standing in that line.”

Jackson rolled his eyes, and started to follow her.

Once he got up the stairs, he caught up to his ex-girlfriend. “Lydia, we can’t be up here,” he said. “It’s against the rules.”

“Oh, don’t worry about that,” Lydia told him, opening a door and pointing inside. “Go on and pee if you want.”

Too drunk to think right, Jackson shrugged and walked into the bathroom, closing the door behind him.

***

Back on the porch, Stiles sat on the step, glad to be done with the game. Garrett sat down beside him and offered him a bottle of water.

“You need to keep properly hydrated, man,” Garrett said as Stiles took the water and opened it. “If not, you’ll have a terrible headache in them morning.”

“Thanks, man,” Stiles replied. “I don’t normally drink like that.”

“But it was a fun game,” Garrett held his own bottle up in a toasting position. “You really kicked ass back there. Especially with one arm. Why didn’t you try out for the team? You’d be perfect for it.”

“I actually did,” Stiles said. “I didn’t want to get on the team or anything. But Scott did, so I went to the tryout with him for moral support. He didn’t make the team because of his asthma, but Coach Finnstock offered me a position. I turned him down.”

Stiles turned around. “Have you seen Jackson?” he asked. “I don’t see him anywhere.”

“He wasn’t in the kitchen when I got the water,” Garrett told him. “Maybe he went further inside?”

Stiles downed the rest of his water and stood up with a wobble. “I think I’m gon’ go find ‘im,” he said, the sudden movement making his head swim.

“You okay, man?” Garret asked, worriedly.

“Yeah, I’ll be fine,” Stiles replied, climbing onto the porch. He then walked inside.

***

Jackson stepped out of the bathroom, and started toward the stairs, Lydia following hot on his heels. At the bottom of the stairs, Lydia reached up and tapped Jackson’s shoulders.

“Don’t I get a ‘thank you?’” she asked. “I mean, I did break a big Talbot house party rule helping you out.”

“Thanks, Lydia,” he replied in a bit of a monotone. “Can I go now?”

“Why don’t you want to talk to me?”

“I just want to find Stiles,” Jackson said. “You know, my boyfriend.”

Lydia rolled her eyes and stepped closer to Jackson. “Come on, Jax. Don’t you miss our talks?”

“Don’t call me that,” Jackson said. “You don’t get to call me that anymore.”

“I want you back, Jackson,” she told him.

“You what?” Even drunk, Jackson couldn’t believe what he just heard.

“I fucked up by letting you go,” she started. “I know that now.”

“I don’t want you back,” Jackson said. “I’m with Stiles now. I love him.”

“Please,” Lydia scoffed. “I know that’s bullshit. You can end it now.”

“You don’t know shit,” Jackson told her. “There was nothing with us. With Stiles, I feel things I’ve never—“

Without warning, Lydia stood on her toes and pressed her lips to Jackson’s.

After a few seconds, she released her hold on him.

“What the fuc—“ Jackson started before being interrupted by the girl in front of him.

“Hey, Stiles,” she chirped.

Jackson turned around to see Stiles with the look of a kicked puppy on his face. A tear started to stream down his cheek. “Jackson?” was all he could say.

Stiles turned and ran away. Jackson started to follow, but Lydia caught him by the shoulder, making him turn around.

“Let him go, Jackson,” she said. “I’ll be here.”

Jackson pushed her away. “Stay the fuck away from me,” he growled. “Never talk to me again.”

He stalked away from the girl, wiping the feel of her lips off of his mouth.

***

Stiles couldn’t believe what just happened. He actually saw his boyfriend kissing his bitch of an ex-girlfriend. The same girl who terrorized them when they started dating. Even sent Isaac into a panic attack. He had to get out of the house.

As Stiles stormed out of the door, Scott couldn’t help but be startled by the sudden slam. “That was Stiles,” Isaac said.

“I’ll go see what’s wrong,” Scott replied as he stood up and followed him.

At the car, Stiles was desperately trying to push in the code on the keypad above the driver’s door handle to open the vehicle.

“Stiles, buddy,” Scott said, as he slowly approached his best friend. “Is everything okay?”

Stiles sniffed. “Everything’s great,” he said, his tone telling Scott that the boy was lying.

“Just come sit on the sidewalk with me,” Scott said softly. “We’ll talk about it.”

“I don’t want to sit down,” Stiles replied. “I just want to get the fuck out of here.”

“What happened?”

Stiles sighed and turned to Scott. “You want to know what happened?” He asked. “Fine, I’ll tell you. My boyfriend; who I love very much, and gave everything, just kissed his ex-girlfriend.”

“What?” Scott was baffled. This can’t be what happened.

“He kissed Lydia, Scott!” Stiles shouted. “Just let me go.”

“No,” Scott said. “I’m not giving you the key. And I can’t just leave Isaac, Danny, Theo, Liam, and Jackson here either.”

“Jackson can go fuck himself,” Stiles spat out.

“Just remember what your dad told you,” Scott said, attempting a soothing voice. “If you ever need a ride, call him. No questions asked.”

Just then, Jackson showed up at the car.

“Stiles, you have to let me explain,” he said softly touching his boyfriend’s shoulder.

Stiles turned around and looked at his boyfriend.

“Explain what?” Stiles yelled. “You kissed Lydia.”

“No, I didn’t,” Jackson defended himself.

“I fucking saw you do it!”

“I didn’t kiss Lydia,” Jackson said, defensively. “She kissed me. I wanted NO part of it, at all.”

Stiles responded by punching Jackson hard in the nose. Jackson stumbled back against the car, blood trickling out of his nostril.

“We should’ve kept it fake,” Stiles cried softly, before walking down the sidewalk.

Scott unlocked the car and grabbed a pack of tissues out of the console.

“Use these for your nose,” he said. “Is it broken?”

“I don’t think so,” Jackson said, wiping the blood off of his face. “Just sore.”

“Go inside and sit with Isaac,” Scott instructed. “Catch him up. I can’t let Stiles go by himself. As soon as his dad picks him up, I’ll come back and take you guys home.”

“Scott,” Jackson asked before going back in. “How badly did I fuck up this time?”

“Give it a couple days,” Scott told him. “He’ll probably cool down enough to talk to.” With that, Scott ran off down the street after his best friend.

Jackson bunched up a tissue and stuck it up his nostril, and walked back in the house.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please don't hate me, guys. I promise this was necessary for the story. Have you ever watched a romcom be straight through happy for 90 minutes? Something has to happen to drive a good chunk of the last third or so of the story. 
> 
> I'd like to thank the final 30 minutes of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire for giving me the proper emotions to write the last 3rd of this chapter. 
> 
> Please be gentle in the comments.


	14. No One Needs to Know

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While Stiles and Jackson are at Brett's party, Noah Stilinski has a full night of his own.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so this chapter may not be what you're expecting, but it's something I've wanted to do for a while. It just happened to fit in right here. I hope it's something you enjoy. 
> 
> Trigger warning: Small mention of vomit. 
> 
> Chapter song: No One Needs to Know by Shania Twain

Noah Stilinski smiled as he watched his son and friends gather in the living room, ready to go off to the party that Stiles and Jackson had been talking about all week.

“Now, you boys remember what I told you?” he asked the group. “If any of you find yourself in any kind of trouble, call me. I will come get you, no questions asked.”

“Yes, dad,” Stiles replied. “I remember. And I promise, we will.”

“That’s good,” Noah nodded. “Now, before you go, I have to ask. Why did Jackson bolt into the kitchen like a bat out of hell about 30 minutes ago?”

“Oh,” Liam laughed. “He tasted the lube.”

“What exactly have you boys been doing up there?” Noah asked, raising an eyebrow.

“They found that bacon stuff you gave me as a joke,” Stiles explained. “Jackson, Danny, and Theo tasted it.”

“Oh,” Noah said. “Well, I could’ve told you it tastes like shit.”

The boys laughed at Noah's revelation, until Stiles stopped. "Wait, dad," he began. "You tried it?"

"Stiles, please," Noah replied. "I'm a grown man with a son. It may have been a while, but I know some things about bacon and lube. I experimented in college, you know."

"And on that deeply disturbing note, I think it's time to go," Stiles said, heading toward the door. The boys said their goodbyes to the sheriff before leaving the house.

As soon as Stiles’ car pulled out of the driveway, Noah pulled his phone out of his pocket and dialed a number.

“Hey,” he said into the phone. “I was wondering, since the boys were out if you’d like to go grab some dinner.”

He grabbed his jacket off of the couch and started to shrug it on. “Uh, yeah. Same place as last time. 30 minutes? Yeah, I can do that. See you then.” He finished putting his jacket on and exited the house himself.

***

Dee’s Steakhouse was the best place to go for a steak, in Noah Stilinski’s humble opinion. He never missed a chance to sneak a trip there whenever Stiles was preoccupied. He loved the kid with everything he had, but with his rules on eating healthy, it was like he had the love child of Richard Simmons and Susan Powter in the house.

Noah checked his coat and made his way into the lobby of the restaurant. “Oh, Sheriff!” the receptionist called out, getting his attention. Noah walked over to the young girl. “Your table is just now ready,” she told him.

“Thank you, Claire,” Noah replied. “Has um… Has my date arrived yet?”

“She’s sitting at the bar. Let me show you to her.” Claire grabbed two menus from the stand beside her and led Noah into the seating area.

The pair then approached a woman sitting on a barstool, sipping a glass of white wine.

“Ma’am?” Claire called out, getting the woman’s attention. “Your table is ready.”

She turned around and spotted Noah standing before her.

“Hello, Noah,” She said calmly. “You ready?”

“Hello, Melissa,” he replied. He then reached out to take her hand.  “You look lovely this evening.”

“Please,” she scoffed. “I’m still recovering from a 19 hour shift at the ER.”

“Still radiant,” he smiled, as they were led to the dining area.

“You know, that is the exact same smile Stiles has whenever he’s about to get something he wants,” she laughed.

“Who do you think taught it to him?”

They made their way to the table, Noah being a perfect gentleman, holding Melissa’s seat out for her. He then sat across from her.

“I’m glad you called,” Melissa said as she opened her menu. “My only plans for dinner tonight were going to be reheated Chinese food and DVR’d episodes of Scandal.”

“I figured after a long week of work, you could use a night on the town,” Noah replied, scanning his own menu.

“Just, why do we have to come all the way out here?” she asked. “That was a 30 minute drive.”

Noah started to scratch at the back of his head. “I just uh…Privacy, you know.”

“You’re not ready to tell the kids yet, are you?”

“Are you?” He asked back.

“Maybe soon,” She said. “You know they’d be supportive.”

“Would they?”

“Isaac once said he ships us,” She said behind a laugh.

“Ship, like mail?” he asked.

“No,” Melissa replied, still laughing. “It’s um…it’s something the kids say. Like when they want two people together romantically.”

Noah took a sip of the water in front of him. “That’s actually pretty cute,” he said with a small laugh.

The rest of the meal went smoothly. Melissa thought the date was one of the best she’d ever been on.  Before they knew it, dessert arrived; the pair picked their choices off of the cart as it was wheeled by.

“So, when are we gonna do this again?” Melissa asked, as she sliced her fork through a slice of cheesecake.

“Whenever you want,” Noah replied, taking a bite of his own cake. “I mean, it’ll be when the boys are off doing their own things again, but they live such full lives, that won’t be hard.”

“They have become pretty independent.”

Noah’s phone then rang. He pulled it out of his pocket and looked at the screen. “That’s weird,” he said. “It’s Scott.”

“What is he calling you for?” Melissa asked.

Noah answered the phone. “Hey, Scott, what’s up?” He listened as Scott told him about the events of the party. Or what he knew about it anyway.

“Scott, calm down, okay? Just can you stay with him? I’m not in Beacon Hills right now, but I can be there in a flash. Where are you? Okay, I know where that is. Can you put him on? No it’s okay. I understand. I’ll see you in about 30 minutes. Thanks for calling me, son. You did the right thing. Goodbye.”

He hung up his phone and motioned for a waiter.

“What’s going on?” Melissa asked, worried. “Are Scott and Isaac in trouble?”

“No, your boys are fine,” Noah replied. “It’s Stiles. He got drunk at that party, and had a fight with Jackson. I’ve got to go pick him up.”

“I hope they’ll be okay,” She said, getting her purse. The waiter brought over the check. Noah laid his credit card down on the platter. “Could you please make it quick?” he asked. “I have a family emergency.”

“As you wish, sir,” the waiter said.

“Thanks, Westley,” Melissa said nicely, as the man rushed off. “I guess I should get home too,” she told Noah. “The boys will be home right after you get Stiles.”

Westley returned with Noah’s card. Noah put it back in his pocket and stood up, Melissa followed his lead. They then walked to the door.

“I guess this is where we part ways,” he said, after he got his coat and car keys.

“I guess it is.”

Before walking away, Noah softly kissed Melissa. “Maybe next time will end happier.” He said with a smile.

“Hopefully,” She replied. “Just go make sure Stiles is okay.”

“Goodbye, Melissa,” he said softly, letting go of her hand and walking to his car.

***

Back in Beacon Hills, Noah pulled his car onto the street Scott told him to go to. He immediately spotted Stiles’ car on the side of the road. Not seeing his son anywhere, he called Scott.

Putting the phone on speaker, he continued to look around. “Hey, Scott, I’m here,” he said. “Where are you guys?”

“At the park at the other end of the street,” Scott’s voice rang out of the phone. “He’s calmed down now.”

Noah drove on down the block until he spotted the park Scott mentioned. “Okay, I’m here.”

“We’re at the swings,” Scott said. Noah parked his car and got out. He then navigated through the darkness until he saw the two boys sitting on the ground in front of the swing set. He rushed right over to them.

“Stiles?” Noah asked, as he got closer. Scott threw out his hands. “Wait, Mr. Stilinski,” he said. He then turned his phone’s light onto the sheriff’s feet, to show he was a half step away from stepping in a pile of Stiles’ stomach contents.

“That happened about 20 minutes ago,” he said. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen him drink this much.”

Noah sidestepped the pile and moved to sit on the other side of Stiles.

“Stiles, baby?” Noah said softly.

“Daddy?” Stiles’ voice was so small. It went right to Noah’s heart. He wrapped an arm around Stiles’ shoulder. Stiles buried his head in his father’s chest.

“What happened?” he asked.

“I don’t really know,” Scott replied. “I was sitting with Isaac talking to some guys, when Stiles ran through the living room out the door, and Jackson following him. When I got out there, Stiles was yelling about how Jackson had kissed someone, and he punched him.”

“He punched Stiles?” Noah asked, looking down at his son for bruises.

“No, Stiles punched Jackson,” Scott clarified. “He then ran off. By the time I found him he was right here.”

“Did you drink anything tonight?” Noah asked.

“Just soda,” Scott replied. “I don’t even like alcohol.”

“Well, that’s good,” Noah told him. “If you can help me get him to my car, you think you can take everybody to their homes?”

“Yeah,” Scott answered. “I’ll get his car back, too.”

Noah nodded, and looked down to Stiles. “Hey, buddy,” he asked. Stiles stirred and looked up. “We’re gonna go home, okay?”

“Okay,” Stiles mumbled. Scott helped them stand up, and got him into Noah’s car with relative ease. After turning down a ride back to the party, Scott walked off, and Noah drove his son back home.

***

About 2 hours later Stiles was all wrapped in his blankets, with a bucket beside the bed, and aspirin on the nightstand ready for the morning. Noah looked in on his son one last time before closing the door. Just as he turned to his own bedroom, there was a knock on the door.

Noah went downstairs to answer it, and found Scott on the other end. “I brought his car back,” he said, holding out the keys.

“Thank you, Scott,” he said, taking them. “Do you have a way back home?”

“I thought I’d walk.”

Noah looked at the clock on the wall. “It’s after 1,” he said. “Just come on and sleep on the couch. I think you’ll be needed in the morning anyway.”

“Thank you,” Scott said, shuffling in as Noah stepped aside.

After he got Scott settled in on the couch, Noah finally retired to his own room, ready to sleep off tonight, and prepare for what he was sure to be a long day tomorrow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you guys think in the comments! I hope you enjoyed it. Don't worry. Chapter 15 features the story getting back to Stiles, Jackson, and their mishaps!


	15. Nothing Compares 2 U

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With a little help from his dad and Scott, Stiles starts to deal with the fallout of the night before, and Theo tells Liam a secret.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so this isn't an easy chapter to read. It was also emotionally tough to write. But it includes some very important information. Get some tissues ready for this one. I cried multiple times writing it. I hope though, the sadness is offset by some cuteness. 
> 
> Chapter song: Nothing Compares 2 U by Sinead O'Connor.
> 
> Trigger warning for talk of surgery and mention of a pre-story death.

The next morning, Noah walked into the kitchen and found a fresh pot of coffee ready for the members of the Stilinski household. Right as he reached for it, a voice from the corner of the kitchen startled him.

“You might want to be careful of it.”

He turned around and saw Scott sitting on the table, looking at his phone. “I made it a bit strong. I hear that strong coffee is good for someone in Stiles’ condition.”

“It is,” Noah acknowledged, as he poured a small cup. He then walked to the fridge, and filled the rest of the cup with milk. “You didn’t have to stay,” He told the boy.

“He’s in the middle of a crisis,” Scott said, setting his phone down. “He needs all the support he can get.”

“But what about your mother and your….” Noah searched for the right word. “Brother? Boyfriend? Your relationship with Isaac has always puzzled me.”

Scott let out a small laugh. “Isaac’s my boyfriend, Mr. Stilinski. Legally, he is my brother, but we’ve become more than that.”

“Not here to judge,” Noah said as he sat down in front of his son’s best friend and drank his coffee. As soon as the liquid hit his tongue, he recoiled, his eyes going wide. “Holy shit,” he exclaimed. “That would sober up Keith Richards.”

“Did I do too much?” Scott asked.

“I think in this situation, too much is better than not enough.”

A loud groan came from upstairs. “Should I go help him?” Scott asked.

“No,” Noah said. “I’ll go take care of him. Just bring a cup of that axel grease into the living room.”

***

Stiles sat up in his bed, squinting in the much too bright light shining through the bedroom window. He looked up as his dad carefully opened the door and stepped in.

“Hey, kiddo,” he said softly. Stiles just groaned in response.

“Let me guess, you’re making an internal promise to never drink again?”

Another groan. Noah pointed toward the dresser. “Just take those aspirin, he said. “In 10 minutes you’ll feel a bit more human.”

“Dad?” Stiles’ low voice called out.  Noah walked over to his son. “Are you mad at me?”

“Why would I be mad?” Noah asked.

“Because I got drunk, made an ass of myself, and threw up on a playground.” Right as Stiles started crying, he felt a weight on the bed beside him.

“You remember last year when I became sheriff? We had that talk about you becoming more independent?”

“Yeah,” Stiles responded.

“We had that talk because I trust you,” Noah said. “You’re gonna fuck up. That’s nothing against you. We all do. Just take that medicine, and come downstairs. Scott’s here, and he’s worried.”

Noah got up and started to leave the room.

“He kissed her,” Stiles said. “And then I hit him.” He was crying now. “How do we come back from that?”

Noah walked back to his son and helped him up. “We’ll have to figure that out later,” he said softly. “Just come on downstairs.”

“Okay,” he said, in an exhausted voice, as his father helped him walk through the room.

Downstairs, Scott sat on the couch, talking on his phone.

“Yeah, he’s just waking up,” he said. “How’s Isaac doing?  I’ll call him when I’m done over here.” He looked up to see Noah and Stiles coming down the stairs.

“Gotta go. Love you, mom,” he said before hanging up the phone.

“How’s your mom?” Noah asked as they got to the couch and sat down. Noah handed Stiles the coffee mug Scott had set on the table in front of them.

“She’s good,” Scott replied. “Worried about Stiles. She said to keep him hydrated, and make sure he eats.”

“Ugh,” Stiles groaned. “If I eat, I’ll be violently sick all over the house.” He took a drink of the coffee. “Holy shit,” he groaned. “Who made this?”

“Drink it all,” Noah instructed. “It will clear your head.”

Stiles set the cup down, and looked at Scott. “Everybody hates me, don’t they?”

“Of course not,” he said. “You need to talk to Jackson.”

“I don’t think he wants to talk to me.”

“Of course he does,” Noah said. “This was just a small misunderstanding. Now, yes, you hit him. But—“

“But nothing,” Stiles said. “Even if I did talk to him, it still doesn’t change the fact that he—“

“That’s it,” Scott said. “I was going to be nice coddling friend today, but I can’t. Stiles, Jackson didn’t kiss Lydia.”

“But I saw—“

“No, what you saw was the end of the story,” Scott told him. “I got the rest of it from Jackson before I dropped him off at Danny’s house.”

“Well, what’s the rest of the story?” Stiles asked curtly.

“Don’t take that tone with him,” Noah said. “He’s trying to help you!”

“Lydia cornered him,” Scott said. “She saw you coming, and knew you were intoxicated. He was too. So, she took advantage of this, and kissed him. She wanted you to react the way you did. You know why? She wants him back.”

“Well, she can have—“

“Mieczyslaw Stilinski,” Noah started. “Don’t you dare finish that sentence. I have been watching you and Jackson for the past few months, and I can safely say that boy is crazy about you. I haven’t seen him yet, but he is probably hurting as bad as you are right now. And I swear, if you throw this away, you will not leave your room until college.”

 “I need to talk to him,” Stiles said, reaching for his pocket, but finding it empty. “Where’s my phone?”

“It’s locked in my gun safe,” Noah said. “I want you to clear your head before you  talk to him.”

“But you just told me to never let him go!”

“And I mean that.  But right now, you’re in no shape to talk to him. Monday, you can.”

Stiles then turned to Scott.

“I’m not giving you my phone,” Scott said before Stiles could ask. “I’m with your dad. Just trust us on this.”

Stiles finished his coffee and set the cup back on the table. “Can I at least go shower?” he asked.  “I feel like I smell—“

“Like a brewery fire that was extinguished by a vomit hose?” Scott said, raising an eyebrow.

“I was thinking more like someone who got caught in a collision between beer and cat food delivery trucks,” Noah snarked.  

Stiles ignored them as he got up and trudged upstairs.

***

After his shower, Stiles felt halfway human again. He walked into his room and started going through his dresser for fresh clothes.

As soon as he pulled on a fresh pair of boxers, a knock sounded at his door.

“Hey, Stiles?” Scott asked from the other side. “Can I come in?”

“Sure,” Sties rasped, sitting down on his bed.

Scott stepped in, and doubled back out when he saw Stiles’ state of undress.

“Sorry, dude. I can come back.”

“Scott, you’ve seen me nakeder than this. Remember the 9th grade measuring contest?”

Scott came back in the bedroom and sat down beside his friend.

“I’ve gotta go,” Scott said. “Mom and Isaac are getting worried.”

“It’s fine. I’m better now,” Stiles said. ”I’d say call me, but that’s not happening.”

“You still have your laptop,” Scott said, pointing over to Stiles’ desk. “We can skype and stuff.”

“We’ll do that later tonight,” Stiles replied, hugging his friend. “Thanks for helping me.”

“You’d do the same for me,” Scott then got up and started for the door. He stopped before opening it and turned around. “I didn’t want to ask you this in front of your dad.”

“What?”

“What did you mean when you told Jackson you should have left it fake?”

Stiles sat up straight. “Wait, what?” he asked.

“When you walked away from Jackson last night, you said ‘we should have left it fake.’”

“I actually  said that?”

Scott moved back toward the bed and sat down. “What does it mean?”

“Uh, it’s nothing,” Stiles said. “Drunk rambling. Didn’t mean a thing.”

Scott nodded. “I can tell you don’t want to dwell  on this, so I’ll leave it at this. It meant something to Jackson.”

He got up and walked back out the room. “I’ll message you when I get home.” With that, Scott was gone.

Stiles curled up in his bed around a pillow and started to cry.

***

That afternoon, Liam sat under a tree in his front yard reading a book. As he was entwined in the adventures of a group of childhood friends banding together to fight the evil child eating clown that’s been terrorizing their hometown, he barely had time to notice the shadow fall across his form.

“I knew you were a bookworm, but how are you even holding that doorstop?” Theo asked, as he sat down beside his friend.

“That’s why I have it on a pillow,” Liam replied, lifting the book to show a cushion underneath it.

“You know you could just watch the movie,” Theo laughed. “It must be much easier.”

“That movie is only half the story,” Liam put the bookmark in its place and closed the book. “What brings you around?”

Theo sat down beside Liam. “I was wanting to talk about last night,” he said. “When we were talking about my life back in Ojai.”

“Yeah, you changed the subject awfully fast,” Liam observed. “You said there were some rumors going around?”

“Yeah,” Theo said softly. “I figured I’d better tell you myself than let you find out elsewhere.”

“It’s not bad is it?”

“Remember I told you about my sister?” Theo asked.

“Yeah. Tara. She um…You said she died.

“Yeah. Car accident. But I left one part out.”

“What’s that?” Liam asked.

“It was my fault.”

Liam sat straighter and moved his book cushion to the ground beside him.

“What do you mean?”

Theo took a deep breath. “Last year, my mom and dad were  away. Some kind of business trip of my dad’s. I had just gotten my permit which I know means you can’t drive without a licensed driver. But she called me late one night from her friend’s house, wanting to come home. They’d had a fight about something, I never got what. It was only a 10 minute drive each way.”

Liam noticed a tear streaming down Theo’s cheek, as he kept talking. “I picked her up, and started back home. She was in hysterics talking about this fight she’d had, but I was trying to focus on my driving. I didn’t even see the truck pull out in that intersection, running the red light until it smashed into her side of the car.”

“That wasn’t your fault, Theo,” Liam said softly, leaning into his friend, and wrapping an arm around his shoulder.

“I’m not finished yet,” Theo told him. “I woke up in the hospital 3 days later. Tara died instantly. And in surgery, I flatlined twice. The airbag broke 3 of my ribs, one of them piercing my heart.” He lifted up his shirt to show Liam a long scar on his chest. “They actually gave me her heart,” he said through a sob. “I’m reminded every day when I catch my reflection in the mirror when I step out of the shower.”  

“And this got rumors started about you?” Liam asked.

“When I got back to school, word had gotten out that I was driving during the accident,” Theo said softly. “Nobody had the whole story, and when I tried to tell them, they just believed their version more. I was branded a murderer. There were even teachers thinking I’d crashed the car on purpose. There was a criminal investigation, and I was accused of manslaughter, but charged with driving without a license. My probation ended right before we moved to Beacon Hills.”

“What about the guy in the other car?”

“He was charged too,” Theo explained. “He actually got convicted of manslaughter, and is spending 7 years in jail.”

“That must have been in the news. They have to have believed—“

“Liam, these kids believe whatever they want. And you know what? I deserved all the blame. I shouldn’t have been driving.  I should have called Lyft or Uber or something. But I didn’t. I thought I could make it and my sister is dead because of me.”

Theo stood up.  “If you don’t want to be my friend anymore because of this, I understand,” he said before starting to walk away.

“Fuck,” Liam whispered as he got up to follow him. “Theo, stop!” he called out. Theo did as he was told, and Liam caught up to him. “Who says I don’t want to be your friend anymore?”

“You’re not put off by this?” Theo asked, tears still streaming down his face.

“Theo, you’re my friend. I’m so glad you shared this with me, you know why?” Theo shook his head. “Because it means you trust me.”

“What if this comes out at school?”

“Anybody who would use this against you can go fuck themselves,” Liam said. “You can’t change the past. And yes, Tara’s not here anymore, but she would not want you feeling like this. Part of her is still alive  within you. Not just her heart. As long as you remember her, she’ll always be with you.”

Liam moved closer to Theo and wrapped him in a full body hug. “You’re coming home with me,” Liam said. “You’re coming back inside with me and we’re gonna eat crappy, bad for us food, play video games, watch horror movies, and you’re staying over.”

“Why?” Theo asked.

“Because I want to show you how much your friendship means to me,” Liam replied. “Come on.” He let go of Theo, and led him back to his house with an arm around his shoulder.

***

Isaac sat on Scott’s bed, flipping through the TV trying to find something to keep him occupied. Right as he landed on a rerun of Modern Family, Scott walked through the door.

“Hey, baby,” Scott said with a smile, seeing Isaac. He walked  over to his bed and promptly kissed his boyfriend. “How did you sleep last night?”

“Not that great,” Isaac replied. “That’s why I’m in here. I missed having you with me.”

“I’m sorry,” Scott told him. “I didn’t want to leave Stiles alone last night.”

“How is he?”

“He’s been better,” Scott said. “He’s got the hangover from hell, and it just hit him what he said to Jackson last night.”

Isaac wrapped his arms around Scott’s shoulders. “Are they going  to be okay?” He asked.

“I don’t know,” Scott sighed. “I hope so.”

He returned Isaac’s hug. “Hey, I’m home now. You wanna get a nap?”

Isaac smiled.  “I’d love that,” he said. The two boys then laid down and curled up against each other. “Just sleep,” Scott whispered. “We can deal with everything else later.”

Before too long, Isaac was asleep in Scott’s arms. Scott carefully dug his phone out of his pocket and sent a text to Noah

To: Mr. Stilinski Tell Stiles I’ll call him later.

Scott set his phone on the bedside table and tightened his grip on Isaac. Before he knew it, he had been lulled to sleep by Isaac’s light snore.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading, guys. I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Next chapter: Jackson's POV of the day after, and back to school! 
> 
> As always, comments are vastly appreciated!


	16. I Could Use a Love Song

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jackson deals with fallout from the party, Danny has some news, Liam and Theo's movie day hits a snag.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> At last, here it is. 2 months, one fucked up computer, a new computer, and a complete revision later, here is chapter 16! Sorry it's been a while for this story, but I hope it's worth the wait! 
> 
> Title song: I Could Use a Love Song by Maren Morris.
> 
> This chapter contains spoilers for the 2018 film Hereditary.

Jackson woke up in a daze. The events of the night before were a total blur. All he remembered was Lydia's fucking kiss, and Stiles. Oh, god. Stiles. He saw. He hit him. He said they should have left it--

"Oh, fuck," he groaned, looking around the strange room. Which on second thought didn't seem so strange after all. "Danny?" he called out after his head cleared. The boy sitting in the desk chair across the room turned around.

"Oh, hey," Danny said. Look who's up!"

"How long was I out?"

Danny looked at the clock beside the bed. "It's 2 now," he started. "So, I guess around 12 hours."

"Shit," he groaned. At least he slept through the hangover. Well, most of it anyway. "Why am I here?"

"Scott dropped you off here. No way in hell was I going to let you stay alone after what I heard happened."

"Where were you last night, anyway?" Jackson asked.

"I may have snuck off with Ethan Stiener last night," Danny blushed. "We started talking at the party, and things got a bit...Yeah."

Jackson's eyes widened. "Ethan Stiener?" he asked. "As in the brother of our goalie?"

"Twin brother," Danny smiled. "I really like him."

"Well, it's about time!" Jackson yelled. "It's been what? A year since Matt?" He asked, referring to Danny's ex-boyfriend Matt Daehler.

"Yeah," Danny admitted. "But enough about me. What the fuck happened with you and Stiles?"

"I don't remember much of it," Jackson said. "I was drunk. So was he."

"Your nose doesn't look broken, by the way," Danny pointed out as Jackson put the phone down. "Your boyfriend can throw one hell of a punch."

Jackson rubbed his cheek. "It hurt, though. In more ways than one." Then something dawned on him. "OH, god. Last night, we didn't--"

"Sleep together?" Danny asked with a laugh. "No, man. I put you in my bed so you could be comfortable and crashed on the couch. You forget I kinda have a guy now?"

"I was just making sure," Jackson admitted. "I've gotta call him."

"Sorry," Danny said. "That's not gonna happen."

"Why not?"

"Well, for one, your phone is dead, and I don't have a charger to match it," Danny explained. "Also, Scott, Stiles' dad, and I agreed you two need time apart."

"How much time?" Jackson asked.

"Just the weekend," Danny said. "It'll be fine. You can spend it here."

"Alright."

Danny got up and walked to the door. "I'll leave you to get dressed. My mom made breakfast before she left. I can go heat it up."

"That hamburger rice gravy egg thing we had before?" Jackson asked.

"It's called Loco Moco," Danny laughed. "But yeah. You can borrow some of my clothes."

He left the room, and Jackson got up. After getting a shirt out of Danny's closet, he started to change. Then Danny stuck his head back in the door.

"Dude," Jackson yelled. "What if I'd been naked?"

"Jax, we've fucked," Danny deadpanned. "Unless you've grown a tail, it's nothing I haven't seen before. I just wanted to know if you were okay."

"Yeah," Jackson said with a false smile. "I will be."

"If you're sure, man," Danny then left the room for good.

A few minutes later, Jackson walked down the stairs to find Danny sitting on the couch in the living room watching cartoons. Jackson sat down beside him and picked up the plate on the coffee table. "Looks good," he said.

"It always is," Danny replied, taking a bite of his own food.

The two boys ate in relative silence, laughing at the cartoon they were watching.

After two episodes, Jackson sat up with a realization. "Shit," He said. "I have to feed my cat."

"You want to go get him?" Danny asked.

"Can we? Mom's out of town, and if I stay here, there's nobody to take care of him."

"Quick trip," Danny asserted. "Five minutes. Get Chewie, his carrier, crap box, anything he needs."

"You got it," Jackson said. He then got up and found his shoes by the door. Danny joined him with his car keys. "Let's do this."

Twenty minutes later, they were in front of Jackson's house. Jackson looked out his window toward Stiles' house.

"No," Danny said. "Five minutes. Chewie. And if I see a phone charger in your bag, it's going to be confetti."

Jackson scoffed defensively. "I was just--"

"You were trying to see if he's home," Danny answered. "I know you."

Jackson rolled his eyes and stepped out of the car. "I'm just here for my kitten," he asserted. "Start that timer." He then walked into the house.

In his bedroom, he found Chewie fast asleep in his lacrosse stick. He carefully reached down and picked up the small, orange ball of fur. "Sorry, buddy," he said. "I didn't mean to leave you all alone for the night." He set Chewie on the bed and opened his closet. After cleaning the clumps out of the litterbox, he set it inside the carrier. He brought both out and set them on the bed.

"But guess what," he told the kitten. "We're going on a little trip to Danny's." He picked Chewie back up and held him close. "It's just for the next couple nights." He looked out of his window and saw the screen pulled over Stiles' bedroom window.

Taped to the window was a sign that says "Fuck off." Stiles has had that on there whenever he wanted to tell the world he doesn't want to be bothered. But today, it hurts even more.

Chewie looked toward the window, then back up at his owner. He squeaked a tiny, questioning meow.

"Sorry, buddy," Jackson said. "Stiles isn't coming. Maybe next time." He then turned around to set CHewie in the carrier and picked it up. On the way out of the room, he grabbed the Lacrosse stick on the dreser and left the room.

***

Across town, Theo and Liam were sitting on beanbag chairs in the den of the Dunbar home watching a horror movie Liam had picked out. On screen, a boy about their age was at a party.

"I thought you said this movie was terrifying," Theo said, bored. "It's been an hour and all these people have done is fight with each other, and that kid cut the head off of a bird."

"It's only 40 minutes according to the timer on the DVD player," Liam replied. "But yeah, I get your point. I don't get it. Scott said this movie gave him nightmares."

On screen, the boy was now driving very fast down the road as his sister was sticking her head out of the window. The boy saw something in the middle of the road, and swerved, causing the girl's head to make impact with a light pole.

"What the fuck?" Theo yelled. "Did she just--The camera was fast and it's dark. Did he just hit her against that pole?"

"I think he did," Liam said. He then picked up the remote and hit the stop button.

Theo sat in his chair shaking. "So, he just--"

Then it hit Liam why Theo was freaking out. "Oh, shit," he whispered. "Theo, I'm so fucking sorry," he said. "I didn't know--I swear if I'd known that had happened in this, I would've went with something else for my choice."

"It's okay," Theo whispered. "I didn't know it happened either. And besides, the circumstances are totally different."

"Really?"

"Yeah," Theo said with a light smile. "Besides, I'm with you. That makes it better. In my old school, it's probably a meme. My head photoshopped into that scene."

At that moment, Liam's mom Jenna stepped in. "I heard yelling. Are you boys okay?" she asked.

"Yeah, we're fine," Liam replied. "The movie just got to us, that's all."

"Yeah, Mrs. Geyer," Theo added. "Just a very scary movie, that's all."

"Please, boys," Jenna said. "There are scarier things than a movie."

Liam got up and walked over to his mom and whispered something Theo couldn't quite hear.

"Oh, I understand," she said. "You okay, Theo?"

"Yeah," Theo replied. "Thanks."

"Maybe pick another movie, boys," She said before leaving. Liam walked to the shelf of DVDs beside the TV and picked something harmless. He slid the disc into the player and sat back down in his chair.

"You didn't tell her everything did you?" Theo asked.

"No," Liam replied. "Just that the movie involved a graphic car accident scene, and you had been in a bad one last year, and it brought back memories. I didn't give details or anything else."

Theo smiled at his friend and hugged him. "Thanks, man."

Liam patted Theo's back and squeezed. "Anytime." He then broke the hug. "Now what do you say we watch something safe." They turned to the TV to see the menu screen for the 2009 Star Trek reboot playing.

"Really?" Theo asked.

"Chris Pine always makes me feel better," Liam admitted.

"Also a pre-Marvel Chris Hemsworth," Theo pointed out. Liam hit play on the DVD and they both sat back to watch the adventures of the Starship Enterprise.

***

Back at Danny's house, Danny was busy playing with Chewie, watching the kitten bat away at a little piece of string.

"Hey, Jax," he asked softly. "What did Stiles mean when he said you should have left it fake?"

"Where did you hear that?" Jackson asked as if he'd been slapped.

"Scott told me after he helped me get you in here," Danny explained. "He said it was the last thing Stiles said before he walked away."

Jackson sighed. "It's a very long story," he said.

Danny lifted the string just out of Chewie's reach. "Well, it's a damn good thing we have all weekend."

"I guess I should start at the beginning," Jackson started.

And so he did, with Danny listening intently as Jackson explained his whole relationship with Stiles. Well, not everything. He left out certain details, like the time Stiles spent the night.

After he finished, Danny was surprised. "But you actually love him?" he asked.

"Yeah, I do," Jackson replied. "Somewhere between our first kiss and his car accident, I realized my feelings were real."

"I'm not good at this whole advice thing," Danny started, "But I bet Stiles' feelings are just as real. Just talk to him on Monday, and you'll both come to the right conclusion on this whole thing."

"Thanks, Danny." Chewie then walked up to his owner and meowed. Jackson picked him up and held him close. "You ready to go to bed, buddy?" he asked. The kitten nuzzled against Jackson's chest in reply. Jackson got up and carried him to Danny's dresser where the lacrosse stick cat bed was set up. He set Chewie in the net, and he was fast asleep.

"Thanks for this, Danny," he said. "I would've just been going crazy if I'd been home alone."

"I know," Danny laughed. "And it's no trouble. I miss doing this. Since you got with Stiles, and brought Scott and Isaac into the group, I feel like some kind of weird 3rd wheel."

"That was never the case with you, Danny."

"That didn't stop me from feeling that say though."

"Is that why you hooked up with Ethan last night?"

Danny nervously shifted on his seat. "Well, that may have had something to do with it," He admitted. "But it's mainly that I like Ethan. He's nice, and easy to talk to, and very hot."

Jackson laughed. "He is hot," he said. "I hope you two are happy together. I really do."

With that, Danny's phone started ringing. "That's him now," Danny said over the chorus of Britney Spears' Overprotected. "Hey, E," he chirped, answering the phone. "What's up?"

Jackson picked up a book lying around as his friend was talking to his new boyfriend. "I'll leave you two alone," he said as he slipped out of the room.

He walked into the kitchen, and grabbed a soda out of the fridge. He then sat down at the table, and pulled his phone out of his pocket. Then he realized the battery was dead. "Shit," he mumbled as he put it back.

With nothing else to do, he started thinking about Stiles. The exact second he knew he was in love with his neighbor. It was one day last month, shortly before the accident. He was in his room, watching a crappy action movie on TV, when something caught his eye out the window. It was Stiles in his own room, dancing to some music on the radio.

Jackson muted his TV and turned on his stereo, trying to find the music Stiles was dancing to. After a few channels, he finally found it. Janet Jackson's Someone To Call My Lover was nearing it's end. If Jackson looked closely, Stiles was singing along.

The memory made Jackson lay his head on the table and cry. How was he going to fix this?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I promise the wait for chapter 17 won't be as long! As always, i thrive on your comments and kudos!


	17. Closing Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After the weekend ends, the guys go back to school. Theo and Liam make plans. Stiles and Jackson talk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, here's part 1 of a two part update! Some good stuff happening in this chapter, and some not so good stuff. 
> 
> Chapter song: Closing Time by Semisonic (Not Third Eye Blind like Friends With Benefits tried to teach me)

The rest of the weekend crawled by for both Stiles and Jackson, but it was finally Monday morning.

Stiles walked down the stairs. "Dad?" he called out. Noah stepped out of the kitchen and saw his son ready for school. "Can I drive my car to school today?"

"Oh, yeah," Noah said, reaching into his pocket for the keys. "Sorry. I forgot today was Monday." He then handed them to his son. "Are you sure you want to go today?"

"I have to," Stiles replied. "I have homework due and a test in Econ."

"Okay," Noah sighed. "Just be careful, okay?"

"I will."

"I just know you'll be seeing Jackson today. And you know, after the sound of Friday night, it's not going to be an easy fix."

Stiles sat down. "I know it isn't," he said. "Seeing him kiss Lydia like that? It hurt. But I'm going to listen to his side of the story."

"I just want you to know that whatever happens, I still love you, Stiles."

Stiles smiled at this. "You're my dad. You have to say that."

"And I mean it. I'm not particularly proud of the drinking or the fighting, but you will always be my son, and I'm always going to be here for you."

"Thanks, dad," Stiles said softly. He then got up. "I'll be right back home after school," he said.

"That's fine," Noah said. "I have to work late on this case going to court this week. You can have Scott and Isaac over if you want."

"I'll let them know," Stiles told his dad, standing up. "I really need to get to school."

"Bye, son."

With that, Stiles left the house and jogged down to his car. As soon as he settled into the driver's seat, his phone rang. A quick look at the caller ID informed him that it was Scott calling.

"Hey, man," he said. "You and Isaac need a ride?"

"Yeah," Scott replied.

"I'll be there in 10," Stiles said. "Later." He hung up the phone and thruned the key in the ignition. Along with the sound of the engine coming to life, the radio started playing.

"And that was Keith Urban with his hit single Wasting Time," The DJ announced as the opening bars to 9 to 5 by Dolly Parton started playing, as the DJ droned on about reaching into the past for the next song. Stiles shut it up by hitting the power button on the radio.

He then put the car into drive and pulled out of the driveway.

***

As soon as he walked into the school, Jackson felt like all eyes were on him. "I shouldn't have done this," Jackson whispered to Danny. "It feels like they all know."

"They don't know shit," Danny replied. "Only you, Stiles, and now me know the whole truth."

"I just want to get to class." Jackson made his way through the crowd without incident, until he got to his locker, where he found Scott and Isaac waiting.

"How is he?" Jackson asked as he got to the pair. Scott took an envelope out of one of his books and handed it to him.

"Everything you need to know is in here," Scott said."I need to get to class."

"If it means anything," Isaac added. "I hope you two work things out."

"Thanks, Isaac," Jackson said opening the note. He loked up briefly to see both boys had left.  
He then turned his attention back to the piece of paper in his hand.

Jackson,

I'm sorry that I'm not here right now to meet you. I had to get something from the library, then go to class before Harris rips me a new asshole for being late.

I want to talk about Friday night. We need to talk about it. Meet me at my locker at Lunch.

Stiles.

Jackson folded the paper back up and put it in his locker, before heading to his first class.

***

Across the school, Stiles sat in his usual seat in the Chem lab bouncing his knee on the stool, waiting for Scott to take his spot beside him.

Finally, just as the bell rang, Scott came through the door.

"Mr. McCall, I hope you have a tardy slip," the teacher, Mr. Harris said as Scott sat down beside Stiles.

Scott pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket and handed it over to his teacher. "Sorry, Mr. Harris," he said. "I had to help my brother to class. His leg is still--"

"I'm well aware of the relationship you share with Mr. Lahey," Harris said. "And it's nothing like brothers should have."

Stiles could feel the ball of anger in his stomach grow a little. He hated this teacher. Stiles and anyone in his immeidate vacinity were Harris' favorite targets for scorn and ridicule.

"Was that a gay remark or an I'm dating my adopted brother remark?" Scott whispered to Stiles.

"No clue, but it pisses me off all the same," Stiles replied. "Did Jackson get the letter?"

"Mr. Stilinski," Harris interrupted. "I'm sorry if my Chemistry lesson is interrupting whatever sub-CW drama you have going on in your life. I'm sure it's nothing that can't wait for after my class."

"I'm sorry, Mr. Harris," Stiles said, low.

***

Between second and third period, Liam walked briskly down the hall up to a vending machine in the hall. As he inserted his change and hit the button for a bottle of water, he was surprised when Theo walked up to him.

"Hey, Li," Theo said softly as Liam stood up with his water in hand.

"Hey, dude," Liam replied, happy to see his friend. "What's up?"

The two boys started walking toward their next class. "I was wanting to talk to you, actually," Theo told him. "I've um....I had a reason why I told you what I did on Saturday."

"What's that?" Liam asked. "You know as my best friend right now, I'm glad you were honest with me."

Theo stopped in his tracks. "This is kinda hard to say," he said. "The reason I wanted to be that honest is I didn't want any secrets with you."

"And I don't want any with you."

"Liam, I like you," Theo blurted out. "And I wanted to see if you--"

"If I still wanted to be your friend after hearing your past."

"Friend, maybe more," Theo said softly.

"Liam, you are my best friend right now," Liam told his friend. "And I like you, too.

"You do?"

"Yeah, I do. You're cute, and smart, and funny. Anybody would be lucky to have you."

Theo smiled. "Well, Liam Dunbar," he said. "Would you do me the honor of being my lucky one?"

"How about first, we go to the dance?"

"The dance?" Theo asked.

"Yeah. The winter formal this weekend. If you go with me to the dance, I'll let you know my answer."

"Okay," Theo said with a grin. "I'll pick you up Saturday."

With that, the two boys started to walk back down the hall to class. What they didn't notice as theyt left was around the corner, Lydia Martin was listening to every word of their conversation.

***

The day seemed to drag on for both boys. Stiles with having to deal with Harris, and Jackson, not knowing what the rest of the day is going to bring.

When the noon lunch bell finally rang, Jackson shot out of his chair for the door. As soon as he walked out, he found himself facing down a sea of students rushing to their next destination.

Slowly but surely, he made his way over to Stiles' locker, where his boyfriend was already waiting, idly spinning the dial on the lock.

"Hey, Stiles," Jackson said, walking up to him. "We should talk."

"Yeah," Stiles replied. "How's your nose?"

"A bit sore. It bled a little, but I'm okay."

"I'm so sorry for that. I have no excuse for how I acted on Friday night."

"Lydia cornered me," Jackson explained. "I was drunk, and she took advantage. I have no feelings for her whatsoever."

"I'm glad to hear that," Stiles said. "It's been killing me all weekend. What I said, what I thought you did. I love you, Jackson."

"I love you too, Stiles," Jackson said back. "And I know you're sorry about the punch and everything. I forgive you for that. There's just one thing I can't get past."

"What's that?"

"When you left, you said we should have left it fake."

"Jax, baby, I didn't mean it."

"Before my parents got divorced, they were fighting all the time. My mom told me when she filed that a drunk person's words were a sober person's thoughts."

"What does that mean?" Stiles asked.

"It means that you had thought we should've kept it fake before. The alcohol just brought it out."

"That's not what I--" Stiles stammered. This isn't how this was supposed to go.

"I wrestled with this all weekend, Stiles," Jackson continued. "I want you back, I really do--"

"So let's just forget all this," Stiles pleaded. "I love you, you love me. It's simple!"

"I can't be with anyone who doesn't believe we can work. And you showed with that that you have doubts."

"Jackson, please don't do this," Stiles pleaded.

"I'm sorry, Stiles. I think maybe it's best we spend some more time apart."

"Are you breaking up with me?" Stiles asked.

Tears started to form in Jackson's eyes. "I think so. I'm so sorry."

With his heart breaking, Stiles turned and walked away, leaving Jackson's words in the air.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember, after this, there's one more chapter to read. And where I'm writing now, the story is coming to a close.


	18. I Was Jack (You Were Diane)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Noah and Jackson talk, leading to another talk between Stiles and Jackson. More Thiam cuteness. Noah and Melissa relive their teen years.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter has one of my favorite scenes in the story. The Noah/Melissa scene was just too fun to write. 
> 
> Chapter song: I Was Jack (You Were Diane) by Jake Owen

Things changed for the group over the next few days. When they found out that Stiles and Jackson had broken up, nobody took sides. Scott, Isaac, Theo, Liam, Danny, and his new boyfriend Ethan sat at their usual table while Stiles and Jackson each found somewhere else to sit at lunch.

They still hung out with each boy equally, and were as good of friends as any. But they just didn't want to choose betwen their friends.

Today at lunch, Theo sat at the usual table, typing something on his cell phone. He smiled when he found what he was looking for. He quickly hit a button on his phone and put it away right when Liam walked up.

"Hey, Theo," he said. "Whatcha looking for?"

"Oh, just nothing," Theo replied. "Where are the other guys?"

"Danny and Ethan are on the way," Liam said, looking around. "Scott and Isaac had a thing and left early."

Just then, Stiles walked up and sat down on the opposite end of the table. "Hey, man," Theo said, looking at his friend. "What's going on?"

"Just got tired of sitting by myself in exile," Stiles explained, before taking a bite of his burger. "So, is it true?"

"Is what true?" Liam asked.

"You two. Are you really a thing?"

Liam blushed a little. "I'm making him work for it," he explianed. "First we're going to the dance. Then I'll give him an answer."

"I like that," Stiles told them.

"How are you doing?" Theo wondered. "Since, you know, everything?"

"Since the break up?" Stiles asked. "To be honest, I've been better."

"Have you tried talking to him?" Liam asked. "I'm sure if you did--"

"I tried," Stiles said. "He's really taking this 'time apart' thing seriously."

Just then, Danny and Ethan sat down across from the three guys. "Stiles," Danny said. "Didn't expect you here."

"Yeah. I'm kinda coming back. If you'll still have me."

"Of course I will," Danny beamed. "Just because you and Jackson aren't you and Jackson anymore, doesn't mean we can't sitll hang out."

***

That night, Jackson sat on his bed playing with his phone, when he noticed Chewie step out of the closet. "You use the litterbox, buddy?" he asked, standing up and walking to the closet. Opening the door, he looked in the box to find a big pile in the middle of the sand.

"Holy shit," he coughed. "How do you do that? You're such a little guy!" He bent down and scooped up the clump into a garbage bag. He'd never been more thankful that his mom found scented bags to take this stuff out in.

"I'll be right back," he said to the little orange lump curled up in the corner.

He walked out of the house to the garbage cans at the end of the driveway. After he placed the small pink bag into the can, he turned around to find Noah standing behind him.

"Shit!" he shouted, as he jumped back. "Sorry, Mr. Stilinski. You just scared me."

"Oh, it's nothing compared to what Stiles has said," Noah laughed.

Hearing the name sent a pang of longing through Jackson's heart. "How is he?"

"Stiles? He's..." Noah hesitated. "He's getting by. He's spending much of his time in his room."

"Are you here to plant that heroin in my car like you promised?"

Noah laughed at the memory of their first dinner together. "No," He told the young man. "In fact, I'm on your side of this."

Jackson blinked in surprise. "You...You are?"

"In the beginning, I knew," Noah said. "I knew you two were faking a relationship for some reason. I also knew when it became real after the car accident."

"How?" Jackson asked.

"Jackson, I've solved murders. Numerous crimes that I have solved just because the person who did it acted a certain way. The same goes for my own son. I noticed the suble differences in how he acted before and after things between the two of you became real."

"Last Friday, after our fight, he said we should have kept it fake," Jackson admitted. "I could forgive him hitting me, but that remark hurt worse than any punch."

"He misses you, Jackson," Noah said. "He won't admit it, but he really does miss you."

Jackson scratched at the back of his head. "I'm gona call him," he said. "When I get back inside."

"That'll be good," Noah told him. "I'd better get back myself."

"It was nice talking to you, Mr. Stilinski."

"And you too." WIth that, Noah turned and went back to his house.

Jackson quickly walked into his house and up to his room.

***

In his own room, Stiles was curled up in his bed watching a video on his phone; the song pouring out of the small speaker filling the room.

The song however, was interrupted by an incoming call. "Jackass," read the caller ID.

Stiles hesitated for a moment, letting it ring. He stood up and walked over to his window, pulling back the shade. He saw Jackson sitting at his desk, looking out the window.

Stiles hit the answer button and put the phone up to his ear. "Hey, Stiles," Jackson said softly.

"Hey," Stiles replied. "How have you been?"

"I'm okay," Jackson said. "Been thinking a lot."

"Oh, yeah? About what?"

"Us. I was um...I was wondering if we could talk in person."

Stiles stood up. "Yeah, sure," he said. "Clubhouse?"

"3 minutes," Jackson told him, before hanging up.

Stiles shrugged on his jacket and stepped into a pair of slippers. "Dad," he called out. "I'm going outside for a few minutes."

"Alright, son," Noah answered. "Just be careful."

Stiles walked down the stairs and out of the house. By the time he got to the clubhouse, Jackson was already inside. Stiles stepped in and closed the door.

"What's up?" Stiles asked.

"I just wanted to see you face to face," Jackson replied. "I may have...slightly overreacted to our fight."

"Once agian, I'm sorry for what I said," Stiles said. "I miss you."

"And I miss you, too."

"So, are you wanting to um..." Stiles starts, not knowing how to finish his sentence.

"Do I want to get back together?" Jackson asked. "Is that what you mean?"

"Yeah," Stiles admitted.

"I don't know," Jackson said. "I do know I want to still be your friend."

Stiles' eyes lit up. "Really?"

"Yeah," Jackson said. "Even before we were official boyfriends, I liked hanging around with you again. And I don't want to go back to what was before. When we hated each other."

"Friends," Stiles repeated.

"Yeah," Jackson said. "And if anything happens with us, it happens."

Stiles smiled. "Yeah. Let's do that," he said. "Can um...Can friends hug?"

Jackson laughed. "Who the fuck says they can't?" he asked, leaning in. Stiles met him halfway and wrapped his arms around him tight.

"I'm glad we talked," Stiles said. "I couldn't leave anything negative between us."

"I'm glad, too," Jackson replied, as they broke the hug. "So, what are your plans for Saturday?"

"I was gonna third wheel Scott and Isaac to the dance," Stiles said. "Isaac and I get our casts off that afternoon, so we're spending it together anyway. You?"

"I'm driving Danny and Ethan," Jackson replied. "Also picking up Liam and Theo."

"Cool," Stiles said.

"I asked because I was kinda hoping you'd be there. You know, so the whole gang could be there."

"I'm glad we had this talk, Jackson," Stiles said. His phone then buzzed. "That's Scott," he told Jackson, looking at his phone. "I should go."

"Yeah, me too. Do you want a ride to school tomorrow?"

"Sure," Stiles answered. "I'll see you then."

He then left the clubhouse. Jackson followed behind him, locking the door on his way out.

***

The next morning, Theo walked into school, smiling as he made his way through the crowd to his locker.

Opening it, he found a blue envelope. "THEO" read the cursive handwriting on the front.

Smiling as he recognized the handwriting, he opened it. Inside was a note.

"Theo.

I know we've already made plans to attend, but here's just a little insurance.

Liam."

He looked inside the envelope again to find two tickets to the Winter Formal. Theo laughed, putting the note and tickets back in his locker. If he wasn't mistaken, he was starting to like this boy more.

He shut his locker to find Liam standing there. "See you got my letter," he said.

"Yeah," Theo answered. "A note in the locker. Sounds pretty boyfriend-y to me."

"I'm still sticking to what I said," Liam said wiht a grin. "Saturday. Two days."

Theo laughed. "I can't wait. We still meeting at lunch?"

"Yeah. I just wanted to see you got the note."

The bell for first period rang, Theo shut his locker and looked at his friend. "See you in 3rd?" he asked.

"You know it."

The two went their seperate ways to class.

***

Stiles sat in his English class, ignoring the lecture on MacBeth the teacher was giving, in favor of the piece of paper in front of him. He studied the words on the page carefully.

Beside him, Danny looked over. "What's that?" he whispered.

"A surprise for Jackson," Stiles answered. "Something for the dance."

"What kind of surprise?"

"You'll have to wait until Saturday to see." He then went back to writing on the paper.

"I hope it goes over--" Danny started to whisper before the teacher cleared her throat.

"Stiles, Danny, is my class interrupting your social hour?" the teacher asked.

"Sorry," Danny said. "I was just a little lost on something with the play, and asked Stiles if he knew."

"Yeah," Stiles piped up. "He thought Lady MacBeth was still seeing blood on her hands because she wasn't washing hard enough."

"What was the real reason?" she asked.

"It was a psychosomatic reaction to guilt," Stiles answered. "She's about to snap, because all of her bad actions have caught up to her."

"Oh," The teacher said. "Well, pay attention, boys." She then went on with her lecture, as Stiles wnet back to his paper.

***

In his office Noah was going through a case file when a knock on his door made him look up.

"Melissa!" he called out, seeing his girlfriend standing in the doorway.

"Hey, Noah," She said. "I was wanting to talk to you about something."

He closed the case file and slid it into a drawer in his desk. "Yeah, sure," he replied. "What's up?"

She stepped into the office and sat down in one of the chairs on the other side of his desk. "I was wondering if you'd gotten the email from the school."

Noah turned to his computer and clicked on the internet button. "Not that I know of," he said. "What kind is it? Cause you know, with my kid, emails from school are rarely good."

Melissa laughed. "No, it's not like that," she explained. "They need chaperones for the dance this weekend."

"You wanna do it?" he asked.

"Well, I know we said no dates when the kids are around, but with this--"

"This could just look like two parents watching over their kids," Noah realized. "Did you just find a loophole?"

Melissa laughed at this. "I suppose I did," she said. "But seriously. Do you wanna go to the dance with me, Noah?" she asked, putting on her best teenage girl voice.

"Uh, well," Noah began, trying to sound like a high schooler himself. "You know I have football practice that day, but I think I can swing it."

"Just warning you, I have a curfew."

Noah got up from his seat and walked around to Melissa. He took her hand and helped her up. "I promise I'll have you home by 10," he said. "It might not be your home, but I'll have you home."

"It's a date," Melissa told him. "My boys leave at 6, and your boy is picking them up, so any time after that will work."

"I'll be there at 6:30," he said.

Her phone buzzed. She looked at it. "Damn," she said. "I hate to bail but work calls."

"I understand," Noah told her. He leaned down and kissed her. "I'll call you tonight," he said softly.

She slipped her phone back in her pocket. "I can't wait," she answered. She then shrugged her purse strap up over her shoulder and turned to leave.

As she walked out of the door, Noah went back to his desk and pulled the file out of the drawer to continue his reading.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know the drill. Comments and kudos are appreciated! Hope you enjoyed! Nearing the home stretch now!


End file.
